A Game Of Hearts
by TattleTale
Summary: (Ch 5 up! AoMi HikoOkon Aoshi and Misao duel.) Some violence. A rival ninja group threatens the Oniwabanshuu in sinister ways. Aoshi, the only one who can deal with it, has his relationship with Misao strained. He turns to Hiko for help...
1. Teaser & Chapter 1: Clicking

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. This is not for profit.

**Author's Notes:** This is my first RK fanfiction. So keeping that in mind, feel free to R & R. It's very much appreciated. No flames, please, unless they're constructive (in which case they won't be flames, right?). Oh yeah, sorry if any chapters seem short . I also hope you don't mind reading thinking bits...

Actually, I started on this a long time ago... but haven't had the inspiration or time to until now. I doubt anybody would remember though.

TattleTale

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**Teaser**

It was back in that dark and quiet room again. The same shadowed, brooding figure, sitting behind the desk, stared at him, barely highlighted by the rays of the setting sun streaming in through the blinds behind him.

"Watch it, Shinomori," he calmly stated. For a while, Aoshi simply stared back. It was not apparent what he was thinking about, if he was, at all, doing so. Then he spoke.

"I understand," he replied as he abruptly turned and walked out the door.

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**Chapter 1: Clicking**

It's raining again, Misao thought gloomily as she sat down at the edge of the wooden floor, resting her head between her open palms, poking out from shelter a little so that the raindrops pattered down on her nose. It wasn't that she hated the cool of the rain, or the smell of refreshing fallen dew in the air. It had simply been raining far too frequently lately, even for the rainy season.

Aoshi had taken a trip out of town a few days back, on a mission, apparently, although he refused to tell her what it was about. Oh, she was piffed about it, of course - she _was_ supposed to be the Okashira, after all. (Heh, Aoshi had not taken the position back officially, but essentially, he _had_ taken the job back, so, okay, she had no reason in being the "Okashira" to know... still, she did deserve some level of personal respect.) But now, she simply missed him and wanted him to return as soon as possible, and it was probably the case that the rain was the one factor which caused his delay.

Ah well, not like her pining for him all day would bring him back any sooner. Misao picked herself up, careful not to get more of herself wet, and went into the Aoiya to see what she could do despite the rain. She was feeling all clean and cosy, having just taken a bath, and didn't want to get herself dirtier, so outdoor activities were out of the question. Rain brought fewer customers to the Aoiya, so Omasu and Okon probably didn't need her help.

_Seems like the only thing left to do now is to train._

Walking past Aoshi's room on the way to the training hall, she reconsidered her options. The rest of the Aoiya's occupants weren't in the room's vicinity at the moment... and they wouldn't actually go into Aoshi's room without his permission on a normal basis either. If she slipped in right now, she might just have a chance to explore his room. She had never done that before - not that she had had any reason to anyway, not like she had dared to ask him for permission anyway. _But why today?_ People explore in search of something they presume to be there, in hopes of discovering something new. What would she be searching for? What would she discover?

Come to think of it, she probably had lots to search for. It wasn't too long ago that she had come to Tokyo with Aoshi on that mission to retrieve Kaoru from Enishi's maniacal grasp. It wasn't all that long ago that she had worked with Aoshi on that small boat to trigger the mines before it reached them. And they had returned to Kyoto not too long after that. She thought he was taking time to figure himself out, especially after what Kenshin had said to him during their battle at Shishio's domain. And it seemed that he was finally beginning to open up - it showed during that brief period of co-operation. If she knew him at all, if he was still Aoshi - the same Aoshi she had known when she was eight, essentially - that would have been proof that he was beginning to open up to her, and he should have continued to do so even after that. She didn't know why... it might seem natural to others that he corrected her judgement on the bearing of the mines, sure, but it was the way in which he did it... the look in his eyes, the delighted, calmed patience which only she seemed to sense. To others, she might well have figured it out wrongly, but she had never been wrong, especially when it came to him. That one, brief period of co-operation... it showed something much deeper.

But it ended there. When he came back, there had been no particular event or incident to show that the relationship they shared had grown more intimate or serious. Just his usual subtly caring ways. Hence, the same question she had been asking for what seemed to be forever - sure he feels for me, but does he feel for me the way I feel for him?

And it seemed that he had been hinting at the answer for some time. That was bearable. But then, he had suddenly gone silent. And that silence was killing her. She simply had to know. _So what am I searching for here? What do I think I'll discover?_

A moment after she had paused to think outside his room door, she slid it open and entered into the dimness of his domain.

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He sat down on the seat offered to him, pushing a package of documents to the man as he did so, and waited. The man pulled the documents out and fingered through each sheet so calmly, one wouldn't have doubted that he was deliberately taking his time. After he was done with the last sheet, he reorganised them, resting them on the table in a neat stack, and stared off into something behind the first sheet, deep in thought. Aoshi's eyes had not moved at all throughout, remaining fixed somewhere in between the man's face and his sheets.

"Thank you. This shall be very useful to me," the man finally replied, neither arrogantly nor humbly. "However, I still need information on the person in charge. Right at the top."

Aoshi understood why that last clause stood alone. He had understood even before he had decided what information to include in that package of documents. Know your enemy. It was essential to any mission. With a firearm project as big as this one, it would not be surprising that whoever it was monitoring the transactions at the borders had already picked up on some of this. It was essential for this man, Shouin, to know him, know his mind, how he thought, so he would stand a higher chance of winning in this game of cat and mouse. And of course, Aoshi had not wanted that right from the start.

Shouin. Kuroda Shouin, Okashira of the Kougikinsei, the Balance of "Justice," had seen through it, and was now giving him a subtle message: "Don't even think about it." It was quite unlike the one before. He was usually subtle. That last time, Aoshi had been slightly taken aback at the bluntness with which he put the threat across.

Like before, like always, he nodded. "I understand," he quietly replied, pausing a while, then heading out the room.

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"Misao-chan!" Okon called. "Lunch is ready!"

"Hai!" Misao called from the training hall. She had been practising _bojutsu_, putting into effect some of the tips her last visit to Tokyo had won her. For the last half an hour, though, she had reduced her training to repeating the basic downward thrust.

Nothing.

There was nothing to be found in the room. The most unusual thing about it all was just some research about drugs and hypnotism, the rest were some notes about completed missions, but nothing else. Aoshi never kept any diaries. It was to be expected. He hadn't left any confidential documents lying around outside his locked compartments either. What she hadn't expected, however, was the total lack of personality in the room. No photos, none of the gifts she had offered him as a child, nothing. Well, maybe that in itself was character. It would seem so much like Aoshi to anyone else. But for her, it cast severe doubts on her perception of their relationship. Was there even one at all? Was there a "them" in the first place anyway?

Misao hadn't bothered to spend much time making logical links. She had probably been too confused to see whether it had made any sense or not anyway. So she had simply felt whatever feeling it was which happened to pass through, letting thoughts come at random. More accurately, she spent the entire time refusing to be upset. It was, after all, only a stupid notion.

_Enough of that! _Misao thought sharply. _Go have lunch with the rest. Now!_

Misao ate noisily, as usual, creating the cosy banter, conforming to the familiar environment surrounding her. It was easy, since everyone at the Aoiya had a hot topic to discuss. A series of strange events had been happening recently.

First, a few of Misao's ninja suits had been torn up to bits. Her clothes had been in her closet all along. As much as anyone's imagination could stretch, no one could think of a possible motivation for it. If it ended there, while it would have remained a mystery, it would have been pushed to the back of people's minds, and perhaps, nearly forgotten.

Soon after that incident, though, blood, later identified by Okina to be pig's blood - something anyone could easily obtain from the market, was found splattered all over the door. Two weeks later, all the flowers in their garden had been severed from their stems. Another three days later, a big hole was found right in the middle of Okina's room. It seemed that each time, no one noticed anything. There was, as before, no motivation anyone could think of. They didn't have a clue what all this meant. Everyone was beginning to feel very patronised, as if an overgrown lame joke was being played on them. Either that, or they were the lame ones, and it was very serious indeed.

"Has Aoshi been informed about this?" Okon offered to the discussion.

"Yes," Okina replied. "He told us that all we can do right now is to wait."

"That's so unnerving... " Misao complained half-heartedly, relatively deep in thought.

All in all, like everyone more or less expected, the conversation was fruitless in contributing to solving the case. But by the end of it, as she had hoped, she truly felt better... only to allow her earlier doubts to start having their effect on her again, while she helped Omasu with the dishes.

The two washed the dishes silently together. Omasu felt uncomfortable, no doubt. Misao knew she was being quiet - it was only a matter of time before Omasu noticed and asked, but she couldn't bring herself to talk about anything. So she simply let the question come.

"You've been so quiet for the past few minutes... you were so normally chatty during dinner only a while ago... it's weird. Is anything wrong?" Omasu prodded tentatively.

Misao sighed. What could she say? "Iya... nothing much. I'll get over it, I guess."

Omasu must have taken her word for it - she didn't question further - and the silence continued.

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It couldn't be said that Aoshi was going through a normal chapter in his life as a member of the Oniwabanshuu, even given his experiences with his former subordinates, as well as those with Shishio.

Before, he had always had a goal. He always knew what he would be doing next, come difficulties and problems or not, and he always had something to work towards. Now, though, he was posed with a threat to the Oniwabanshuu, and he had absolutely no feasible idea how he was to go about solving it. It seemed, presently, that all he could do was to submit to the Kougikinsei until he had new inspiration for problem solving. So it was a matter of waiting. The cruellest part was that he had no idea until when, yet he had no other choice, and his relationship with the rest of the Oniwabanshuu, especially that with Misao, was on the line.

Part of submitting to the threat included his not getting close to Misao. Shouin must have studied his personal life very closely. He was giving Aoshi a clear indication of just how much power he had over him. Also, Aoshi guessed that this step was probably not personal. He could see how useful the directive was to Kuroda. Given that his feelings for Misao were such, as accurately assessed by Shouin, his not getting close to Misao would be a clear indication as to how submissive to Shouin Aoshi was being for that period of time. Shouin could monitor Aoshi that way. It showed just how practical Shouin was, and how good he was at his work too. All in all, he told Aoshi, "Don't mess with me."

Well, that was one thing. The other thing was the threat itself. Shouin had proven that he had the power to harm anyone in the Aoiya. A few events, rather out of the ordinary, had occurred just as Shouin had said they would. He couldn't be faking the ownership of the cause of the event - it was a prediction.

He had not specifically said just how he could have that power, but Aoshi reasoned out that it was probably someone on the inside. Knowing Shouin, that person probably didn't know he or she was working for Shouin either, so that pointed at mind-control techniques. It wasn't too foreign a topic for him, being a ninja. He knew how it was possible for a person to forcibly build walls in another's mind, and, more or less, "install" programs, which cause the person to do his bidding in any manner he wanted. This affected not only a person's actions, it affected how much of what that person remembered, and all this was done subconsciously, so there would be absolutely no way a third party could squeeze this information out of the subject.

How Shouin had constructed this threat was not hard to imagine. The inhabitants of the Aoiya were fairly active people. They left the Aoiya often with the daily duties and errands they had to complete. He could have easily kidnapped one of them for a few hours to do his job. Since Shouin knew of his feelings for Misao, as much as Aoshi tried to deny it from himself even, the obvious threat was that Misao might be harmed. But that didn't help in his solving the mystery. This mind-controlling technique worked subconsciously. It could be anyone at all - even those he trusted... even Misao herself.

He could not afford to risk anything by telling anyone about this. He had only himself as a resource. If Kuroda Shouin so much as caught a whiff of his plans for rebellion, there was no telling what might happen to Misao, or to him, for that matter.

For now, though, he had to concentrate on following Shouin's regulations, not on trying to get pass them. He was back, once again, standing at the doorway of the Aoiya, wondering what he was to do about Misao, even as he watched her slowly, slowly, slip into depression.

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Omasu flipped the last of the laundry over the bamboo poles to hang dry just as she heard the soft rustling of paper material as the front door slid open. The first thing that came to mind was that it had to be Aoshi - no one else was out.

Walking into the house from the backyard, she briefly welcomed him back, "Okaerinasai, Aoshi-sama!"

"Aa," he acknowledged her as he put down his travelling bag and took off his trench coat before heading elsewhere, to his room for a change of clothes, probably.

Misao was in the training hall, probably back at _bojutsu_ again. She might not have heard the sound of the front door opening, and since Omasu happened to be free, she may as well bring the news to Misao. She'd been waiting for Aoshi's return for just over a week now, and Omasu was delighted to be the first one to see one of Misao's priceless looks of elation, and, perhaps, relief.

"Misao-chan! Aoshi-sama's back!" Omasu burst into the hall and grinned.

At first, Misao paused, looking somewhat stunned. Then she "Oh"-ed and ran out of the hall, leaving Omasu at the door.

No, Omasu thought. That wasn't a stunned look. Not exactly. Did Misao look nervous? Omasu looked towards Aoshi's room - Misao was probably there.

Then something clicked.

So this is what it's all about! Misao acting so strange lately... maybe Aoshi's passiveness has finally gotten to her. Concerned, but knowing better than to watch them directly, Omasu decided that to eavesdrop casually would be the best approach. She busied herself with cleaning the Aoiya, choosing to dust the displays and decorations, since that would be quietest, and she could hear them over her activities. Maybe I'm just a busybody, Omasu considered the possibility. But somehow, she didn't care for that. While Misao might be strong, while she could probably handle Aoshi's indifference for a while, despite her feelings, she had been doing that for long enough, and Omasu was worried that Misao's strong will was slowly softening, or worse - turning into something Misao couldn't handle herself. So she listened on.

"Okaerinasai, Aoshi-sama," Misao said, somewhat repressed.

"Aa," Omasu heard Aoshi say, quite faintly, over the rustling of his unpacking.

"So what was the mission about? How was it?" Misao inquired, sounding more perked up, as she was heard carelessly sliding down to sit on the floor, probably in that familiar Misao-styled cross-legged position.

For a while, Aoshi simply continued to unpack and fold his clothes, then he replied, "I was called in to help one of our sectors stop a fairly major drug trafficker in the region. He has been rightly framed and arrested by the police."

"Oh... So- when's the next mission?"

"Unconfirmed."

"Are you gonna be busy for a while?"

"Quite."

"Need any help? I could help you sort out documents and stuff..."

For a while, Aoshi paused, then he said, "Aa. I'll call you when I'm ready."

Nobody spoke for a while. Omasu guessed that Misao was reluctant to leave. Then it seemed Misao found something else to say - "Do you want any tea, Aoshi-sama? It's been a while since you had a tea ceremony... "

"Aa."

"So... I'll go prepare the tea and I'll wait for you in your room, ne?"

He must have nodded, because Omasu didn't hear him reply before Misao slid his room door open and padded down the stairs to the kitchen. After the exchange ended, Omasu couldn't believe her ears. It had been quite a while since she'd bothered to notice the two, and it seemed that since then, both had grown a lot more awkward in each other's presence.

She was sure that Aoshi had very deep feelings for Misao. She could see it in the way he looked at her, and in the way he watched out for her when he was around. Well, if she was right, his voice still held in it the care and concern. But it was... restrained. Held back. Almost as if he was afraid to show it.

Afraid to show it...

Somehow, that clicked. Yes, he was afraid. Omasu didn't know why, but she believed it. Maybe that was because it was by far the most optimistic way to see things. But whatever the case, she was sure it was fear of letting anyone know how he felt. Well, yes, that was very Aoshi in many ways. But after being with Misao for so long, he had to be a fool to still want to wear that mask of his so firmly in place. So Omasu was sure it wasn't because of his character. It had to be something else.

Then, Omasu decided that it wasn't her business to interfere yet. She obviously didn't know enough, and Misao hadn't decided to turn to anyone yet. While in some cases, her intervention might be direly needed at this point, she didn't know it yet, and chances were that she was overreacting. So she decided to just wait, keeping her thoughts today at the back of her mind.

No, if she wanted to interfere, she would talk to Misao in the evening, perhaps, after she had time to get off this topic and revisit it later, so she could be sure nothing would be just a spur-of-the-moment decision.

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Aoshi had experienced a sort of inward panic when Misao had asked him about the mission. It had pained him to tell her a lie, but it had pained him even more to tell it so nonchalantly. However, he had had not much of a choice, because he was not fooled – he had felt the distinct _ki_ of Omasu in the vicinity and was well aware of the possibility that others might find out should he show Misao any affection. He was, however, most worried that Misao could in fact be the one that he should be concerned about. Hence, Aoshi was thankful for the years of in-built self-discipline and his ability to maintain a stony facade.

When Misao had offered to have tea with him, it tore him up inwardly. On one hand, he welcomed it for the fellowship that he could enjoy, even if it involved simply watching Misao. On the other, it was the very need to curb his display of affection towards her that he dreaded. The only aspect of the situation which he could take comfort in, something increasingly foreign as of late, was the fact that the elaborate nature and reverent mood of the tea ceremony would reduce the need for him to speak while allowing him to enjoy Misao's presence.

He watched Misao from the moment she stepped into the room. He might have been embarrassed to admit it to another, but he noticed in particular that her body had become more prominently curvy. Mutely observing her ladle the hot water into the cup, he also noted with bitter fondness that Misao had now acquired a grace which contrasted much with her earlier flippant plopping of herself down on his room floor. _So she now chooses gracefulness at will._

When Misao had finally finished her part and they had both taken their first sips, Aoshi once more braced himself for Misao's probing.

"Aoshi-sama...?" She looked expectant.

He waited.

"Thank you for letting me have this time with you."

"Aa."

Misao seemed to have something else to say, but seemed to think twice. Then, her shoulders slumped slightly and a crestfallen demeanour crept upon her. To Aoshi, that called for immediate corrective action – Misao looking resigned had serious implications.

"How did you spend your day?" _Perhaps Shouin will not fault me for relating to her on the default level of a mentor._

"My day?" Misao looked up. "Aah... I trained... with the _bokken_! I tried out some of the stuff that Kaoru-san taught me when we were in Toukyou."

"And what did that include?" _Perhaps, I need only show her that I am not completely indifferent. Kami-sama, let this be enough... for now at least..._

At the question, however, Misao blushed – a good sign to Aoshi. "What I learnt in Toukyou would only bore you Aoshi-sama. It's really basic, since _kenjutsu_'s not really my forte..." At Aoshi's continued silence, she added, "Just tips on how to focus to produce a better downward stroke, I guess." She looked uncertainly at Aoshi, awaiting his reaction.

"But basics are good. Fully mastering the basics is enough to beat many a qualified fighter these days." At that, Misao perked up somewhat, ended the ceremony and offered to clear the ceremony apparatus before leaving the room.

That disturbed Aoshi once more. For one, while Misao looked hopeful, she was still disappointed. Even if she did not know it, he knew her much better than most people gave him credit for. She was hoping that he would offer to instruct her in _bojutsu_, and he did not.

On top of that, it spoke volumes that she was happy enough to end the ceremony and their first time of fellowship in a long while after just a few meagre lines from him. It was pathetic. Was his keeping his distance getting to the point that she was happy just hearing him mumble a few words?

Feeling more lost than ever before after Misao left the room, Aoshi once more felt a wave of anxiety wash over him. He sincerely doubted that he could go through with this any longer without either cracking and endangering all in the Aoiya or severing all emotions he had, jeopardising his relationship with all who mattered to him, including Misao, and losing his soul.

The only option left was to tell someone else about it. As a ninja, his training had included psychological training. He had studied not only the psychology of breaking the enemy down, but also that of preserving himself. Keeping things bottled up for too long a period was a sure way to waste away emotionally and eventually end up a burden to others. It seemed that the time had come when not revealing his difficulty to others was becoming just as risky as keeping it confidential. But who could he tell?

Actually, he had many options even after striking all the Oniwabanshuu off his list. The question was, to be frank, who could he tell without getting found out? The group that was most supportive, albeit none too subtle, was in Toukyou, a nearly impossible destination in trying to avoid detection. Saitou was in Hokkaidou, also too distant for subtlety. Besides, he couldn't possibly hope to go undetected leaking his situation to a police officer who had a notorious wolfy reputation.

Unlikely as the remaining option was to him, Aoshi was not so dense as to rule him out. Besides, his location had an added advantage – it was near the woods where Aoshi sometimes trained. The option also appealed because the subject had very useful attributes – phenomenal wisdom, discipline and as yet incomparable fighting skills, all vital if he were to be of help to Aoshi. His arrogance was not a factor – Aoshi knew it was justified and that Hiko Seijuurou would have the sense to know when to curb it. Like Kenshin's apparent gullibility and his own icy apathy, it was but a facade.


	2. Chapter 2: Protocol

**Author's notes:**

**Streetwise Girl:** Ooh, I didn't know I had that setting on . Thanks! Yes, I'm quite picky about spelling and grammar.

To all:

Eh heh heh, I admit I've no set plot, so if you've any suggestions, it'd be more than welcome! Sorry for the short chapters as well... Just I couldn't be bothered to wait too long before uploading stuff that I'm done with. I'm sure you won't mind either ne? Cos that means faster updates... Besides, I admit that I have no subtlety whatsoever in deciding when a chapter ends and begins... it just depends on what I can upload stuff . 

Notes about elements of Japanese culture mentioned:

On bamboo across the windows: There's a kind of window called the _renji mado _which is a window with tow papered sliding screens and a bamboo latticework frame outside it. I'm not sure if it can be used in a kitchen, however, as I've read from other sources that kitchens are quite simple. So let's just assume that there's nothing wrong with what I'm writing for artistic license's sake. XD If anyone wants to enlighten me on this, I would appreciate it very much!

Anata: It can mean "you" in Japanese, but it also means "dear" or "lover", something which a wife would call her husband. The _kanji_ for _anata_ when it means "you" is different from the _kanji_ when it means "beloved".

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**Chapter 2: Protocol**

His body clock awoke him in the flint-cold darkness of pre-dawn Kyouto. It would have to be today, when Hiko Seijuurou was scheduled to pick up his next instalment of sake jugs. It overlapped with Aoshi's routine time slot for training, exactly when he'd be in that area around Kyouto. Should an enemy try to spot him, he would not be able to track Aoshi undetected once Aoshi was away from crowds, in the woods. Instead, the problem would be that any spy could detect a delay in Hiko's trip back to his shack, considering how much of a recluse he was. That could, however, be easily circumvented if he stopped Hiko early enough on the trip and got him to run back to the shack so that he'd get there in about the time he would normally take. Besides, like Aoshi had decided, the risk of not telling was about as great as that of telling, so his mind was made up.

Anyway, Aoshi had a backup plan, should he be found out... He would kidnap Misao, preventing the rest of the Oniwabanshuu from coming into contact with her, and restrain her, not unlike how a straightjacket would, to prevent her hurting herself, in case she was the one being used. He could then openly get Hiko to settle affairs at the Aoiya for him while he hunted the Kougikinsei down and interrogated them for all the answers he needed. Obviously, the amount of discomfort it would cause to all involved meant that this was plan B, and by no means A.

Aoshi had much to thank the tea ceremony with Misao for. It was only after realising the effect that his current choice of actions was having on Misao that he had forced himself to come up with something better. With his current plans, even if he had to resort to plan B, it would at least give him more of a choice regarding when he wanted to act, so that the emotionally ripping process of waiting need not be completed and they weren't at the total mercy of the Kougikinsei.

All these thoughts flitting through his mind in a nanosecond, Aoshi arose from his futon. He moved in a deliberately usual way, allowing an obvious, usual amount of cloth rustling to occur. He was also now thankful that his regular routine was to train in the tighter ninja attire, as opposed to his trench coat. That would assist him after he made the transition from allowing himself to be watched as he made it to the woods to stealthily moving about in the forest as he pretended to train but in reality tracked Hiko down. He slid open the _shouji_ of his room, then closed it behind him and did the same to that of the Aoiya, all in a normally noisy fashion. No one would suspect a thing. After all, he did this almost everyday when he wasn't on duty or away. Still, standing at the entrance of the Aoiya, he cast his senses far and wide, and was relieved to find only the _ki_ of sleeping members of the Oniwabanshuu within range of tracking him.

To an observer, it would only seem that a tall ninja had exited his home base and was but jogging away towards his training grounds, his steps confident, his shoulders at ease and his expression the portrait of calm.

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The Day Before...

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Hiko Seijuurou would not be caught unawares. He had known that he had been intermittently observed since a few months back. He had felt about three different people by analysing the feeling that he got from their _ki_, and it was always these few who would take a few moments once every couple of days to take stock of him... or something related to him. They never observed him together, always working alone, but it was always these few who kept coming back. There was nothing else to conclude except for the fact that they appeared to be on a roster of sorts to keep an eye on him, and considering the similarly high levels of stealth each employed, he did not doubt that they had received training in a similar art.

Hiko was not concerned. However, despite this, he was very much the unassuming party. He had simply sensed within their _ki_ that he was not their main concern, that they would happily – eagerly, in fact – leave him alone should things stay status quo, so that they posed no security threat to him as yet. Then, he became preoccupied with what 'status quo' meant to the trio. The trio would only be concerned when something happened which had not already happened. After observing that they would only spy on him on days when he was known to regularly leave his mountain, even if he chose not to in the end, he deduced that the event with which they would be concerned had something to do with meeting a particular person. This person, then, probably also knew of Hiko's regular habits, and so would prod these watchers into worrying only about days on which Hiko's schedule entailed leaving his mountain, whether or not he actually conformed to it. It made sense, because if Hiko had chosen to leave his mountain at any other point of time, while the spies would not be able to predict it and be there to watch, then neither would that person. It all fit.

Two possible kinds of people could know of his personal habits – people who knew him personally and for long enough (not a very common occurrence) and people who were experts in information gathering. Considering that he was a recluse, it was unlikely that he would become entangled on account of personal acquaintances with the affairs of a group of spies or some intelligence agency with the lifestyle which he had kept up for so long... at least not unless he already knew them personally anyway. Hence, the former group was more likely... very likely, in fact, should one take a few simple moments to consider the background which the baka deshi had. Indeed, he had a good mind to suspect the Oniwabanshuu too, in view of their profession and his kind assistance regarding the whole Shishio affair. All of Hiko's other acquaintances took a back seat when it came to these two candidates.

He had spent a day considering both his idiot apprentice and then the Oniwabanshuu, giving the furnace in his kiln a lower priority on his attention. Heaving a bear of a sigh, he picked himself and his Shirasaya Nihontou up, leaving the flames to slowly die over the afternoon and evening, his job done so early in the day, no doubt due to his acumen in the art. Practising even simple aspects of kenjutsu, including repetitions of the downward stroke, helped him sort his thoughts out. Doing so regularly kept his spirit focused, his reflexes swift and steady, and his intellect razor sharp. Hence, because of his little self-declared project of thought for the day, he proceeded to complete a thousand downward strokes, choosing to devote half of his attention to the strokes and the other to sorting the issue out.

He surprised himself, however, with his wit and intelligence after he came across a flawless – or at least, the least risky – path of logic after only a hundred strokes. He realised that if the person in question was his baka deshi, then the spies could have better spent their time watching for Kenshin's exit from Toukyou, rather than waiting here so near his mountain. Even if Kenshin _was_ already in Kyouto, his coming to the mountain would lack an overarching excuse from the start and the spies could spot him easily the moment he stepped out of the city. If, however, someone from the Oniwabanshuu were sent by Kenshin, or if the person in question was himself a member of the Oniwabanshuu, it might be possible that the spies would be forced to resort to such measures because it would be more normal for someone living in Kyouto to enter the vicinity of the mountain out of routine. This explained the part of the sticky situation in which the spies watched Hiko instead of their true subject.

It was on this line of logic that Hiko expected the arrival of Aoshi, the only truly capable member of the Oniwabanshuu and the only one who warranted so much of the spies' concern and skill.

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The Present

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The trees of the woods in the outskirts of Kyouto rustled, but only fainty. Aoshi had just landed on a branch after a 20-minute-long stint of darting from branch to branch non-stop at near superhuman speeds. A scout had started to watch Aoshi the moment he had left Kyouto. Aoshi had expected the scout to let his guard down so that Aoshi could lose him without causing alarm while training. However, the scout was persistent, and it even got to a point when the scout allowed Aoshi to detect him when it couldn't be helped. After all, the scout had nothing to fear from Aoshi knowing of his presence. It should have been obvious by now that the Kougikinsei tracked every movement of his. Breaking out of indecision, Aoshi shook him off by branch-hopping in the woods. He'd done that quite regularly for practices anyway. Furthermore, he had not met Hiko yet. He could only pray that the scouts would not count it against him too much... or at least not too soon. _Looks like I now have to resort to plan B. So much for all the thought. _Aoshi sighed. Still, at least, this would buy him time to rope Hiko in, then to work with him.

Now, he was a mere 1km from Hiko's shack, on the opposite side of the mountain from Kyouto. Lowering himself to ground level, he settled into a steady rhythm of jogging through the woods. The other scouts who were assigned to watching Hiko would probably have been alerted of the Kyouto scout's failure to account for Aoshi. He knew that, by default, they would most probably now be watching Hiko within a 100m radius of wherever Hiko was, which was, hopefully, the hut.

"In a hurry, Shinomori?"

Aoshi whirled around, breaking his speed by catching his twin kodachi, still in their sheaths, across two trunks. At first, relief swept over him inwardly, then he began to get puzzled.

"Now, why would an iceman be jogging on my mountain so early in the morning? Seeking out a new venue for meditation, perhaps?" Hiko smirked at Aoshi, his arms folded, leaning sideways on a tree trunk along the path that Aoshi had just jogged, sake jug in hand.

Aoshi glared at Hiko, hoping that it would hide his puzzlement and, not to mention, surprise. Hiko took the cue to continue, "You don't have to injure yourself wondering how I knew to meet you... No, I'm not involved in all this. Being the genius I am, I don't have to be involved to know."

Aoshi had to be sure. "So prove to me how you knew, or I will make no assumptions."

Hiko raised an eyebrow, then resumed the smirk, "Although I doubt you'd be too eager to have me as your enemy, I will, nonetheless, spare you the agony of cerebration. I sensed the _ki_ of a consistent few sent to watch me. They usually only start spying when I reach the town where I get my supplies. Today, they seemed more unsettled and started watching me from the trees around the clearing where I live."

Aoshi noted wryly that Hiko had deliberately left the word "sake" out. "How did you know where I would be?"

"A grand entrance of madly waving branches all neatly lined-up is not hard to miss."

Now, it was Aoshi who raised his eyebrows. He was sure he had been subtle, taking pains not to stir up much in his wake. No doubt, the self-assured hulk was trying to imply that even that was not subtle enough for _him_. Mentally shrugging the offensive nuance aside, he probed further, "How did you know that it would be me?"

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Hiko was getting impatient with the bloke's insistent probing. Granted, it probably bothered him to no end because he could not yet guess just _how_ Hiko had figured it out. Still, it was not very wise to converse out in the open for so long. So perhaps they were in the woods, but still a half-mile separation between the skilled ninja (and Hiko now had no doubt that they were precisely that) and them was not safe enough.

"Seeing that I would take too long explaining it to one such as yourself, I would strongly advise you to put a check on your curiosity for the moment while we find a safe place to converse," Hiko easily dismissed Aoshi's question. Even if they had found a safe place, there was no time to lose. Hiko had to get himself back on the radar of the spies as soon as possible to avoid any suspicions.

"Aa. It doesn't matter, I will explain here and you may shortly return to your... home," Aoshi deliberately paused before the last word. He was, admittedly, now at Hiko's mercy and hoped not to antagonise him.

_I _may_, eh?_ Hiko scoffed inwardly and shifted his weight to stand upright.

"Thank you for taking the trouble to meet me in such a manner. The Oniwabanshuu have been at loggerheads with another ninja group, the Kougikinsei, for quite some time now. Recently, they have, presumably, managed to kidnap one of our members and used, I speculate, a niche technique of hypnosis. The hypnosis allows them to programme into that member's subconscious the instructions to carry out any threats on us without the member being aware of it. In other words, we are left wide open," Aoshi explained.

"What do they want in exchange?"

"For now, help in gathering information which can only be obtained via the most risky of means. You don't need to know the details, however, as, obviously, it won't end there. If I do not solve it soon enough, it will go on indefinitely, even after the case has been solved."

Hiko was alarmed after he had heard of the proficiency of the group. It meant that they could now no longer assume that the scouts' simultaneous failure to track both Aoshi and himself would be easily overlooked by whoever it was in charge. It had to be solved _now_. At least, action had to be taken. "I assume the most sinister threat to you would be the vulnerability of your weasel girl?"

Aoshi scowled, confirming Hiko's suspicions.

"Tell me one thing, and I assume you would recognise the _ki_ of each of the members of the Oniwabanshuu. I understand that not all have a memory that can match mine, but other than Misao herself, who has been most consistently present at all exchanges between her and yourself?"

Aoshi closed his eyes lightly, recalling all his moments with Misao from the weeks before all the trouble began to the present. It was surprisingly easy to take stock of all the incidents, as they were painfully few in number. Furthermore, in his state of emotional tension and heightened awareness when he interacted with her, knowing of the threat, he could pretty much recall all the minutiae of their exchanges. Slowly eliminating people from his list, a look of surprise unwittingly descended upon him. "Omasu."

Hiko raised an eyebrow, then grinned.

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Chikana hummed in the early morning coolness as she filled the tray with breakfast. The first rays of dawn streamed through the bamboo lattice which lay across the pantry window. It was precisely these facets of life that she most enjoyed, and for which she had declined the other aides' offers to prepare Shouin's meals. Instead, she had simply requested a separate pantry cum kitchen for her to work in, away from the usual bustle of the place, as the Kougikinsei headquarters doubled-up as a restaurant cojoined to a shop selling pieces of art and lacquerware.

Placing the bowl of rice, the last element of the breakfast, onto the tray, Chikana picked it up and proceeded out of the pantry and up the stairs.

"Shouin?" Chikana called into Shouin's room and took a peek in from behind the ajar door. Shouin sat behind his work desk, dark brown bangs slightly ruffled. He would have been described as slight in stature, if not for his chiselled muscles, developed after years, even decades, of strict, disciplined training.

"Chikana. Yes, feel free to come in," he looked up from his work, then stood up to stretch and proceed to the Western-styled teak coffee table where Chikana laid his breakfast tray.

"On to your work so early today?" Chikana refrained from frowning.

"Yes," Shouin sighed. "I've a nagging suspicion that the police have planted a mole in the operation. There are little pockets of the operation, as well as of the police network that is on to this, that I am completely in the dark about. Shinomori is not incompetent... He's obviously deliberately leaving something out, and without which I simply cannot proceed."

Chikana raised her eyebrows. They had previously discussed the issue – specifically, Chikana's objections to the entire operation. She wanted to know that he had not forgotten her concern.

"Alright, so I can't really blame him for trying to sabotage this," Shouin conceded.

Chikana let their conversation lapse into silence for a while. Then, feeling unsettled over what she had communicated to him, she interjected, "_Anata_, I'm not saying that I wish for you to fail... nor do I think evil of you. I... Well, I'm just concerned for your conscience, I guess," Chikana didn't know whether she had fulfilled her intention of soothing him or if she had only served to rubbed salt in.

"And why should I have a problem with my conscience? It is perfectly clear. I see a need and I meet it, because I think that it is right," Shouin retorted, albeit a bit too bitterly, Chikana noted.

Still, she pressed on, "And it is right even if that involves tearing apart two lovers? Shouin, what if _they_ had done it to us instead?"

"The end to which I strive would justify me. Besides, and how many times have I told you, the government itself imports arms underhandedly and sells them to the more powerful _yakuza_ groups to pacify them! Think of how many more families would be torn apart with those wild firebrands running around and carrying such deadly weapons. I don't think that I need to tell you how much of an outrage that is. _Nippon_ would really be better off ruled by those who would give their lives for what they think is right, not a bunch of conniving charlatans who put the lives of everyone but theirs at stake, and over petty and unfounded fears at that. I would rather trust the revolutionists with those arms. Besides, I know that they're not going to do anything with them... it's only to make sure that the government officials know their place," Shouin turned away from Chikana and glared at some point outside the window.

Listening to Shouin's tone, Chikana began to regret bringing her objections up. Here, they would never see eye to eye. Chikana had thought that she was only doing the right thing, however, by alerting him to a possibility that he was wrong in his cold and hard ways. _They_ were the ones tearing up the very lives they wished happiness for, and to Chikana, that equated to undermining precisely the noble end they so strove for. In any case, after seeing the glimmer of bitterness in Shouin, Chikana decided that she had done more than simply warn Shouin, which was about all that she could have done without tainting _her_ conscience. She took their marriage very seriously, and she realised that insisting on complete agreement would only serve to break it. Her role, however, was to simply love him for the good man that he was, even if his methods were flawed.

"I... I'm sorry, _anata_, it was not my place to insist that you agree with me. Forgive me," Chikana lowered her head.

Shouin sighed, "I forgive you, since I will also be needing forgiveness for my misplaced anger."

Chikana smiled a slight smile and nodded graciously as they lapsed into silence once more and Shouin started on his meal in proper.

Suddenly, Shouin caught sight of the clock and cursed.

Seeing Chikana's quizzical look, Shouin explained briefly, "The pigeon from the scouts was supposed to have arrived five minutes ago..." At Chikana's continued puzzlement, he added, "They update me regularly when all is well."

Chikana nodded and exited the room, leaving him the privacy to settle this problem.

It was not a good sign that neither of the scouts had sent him a pigeon. There was only one safe conclusion he could make – that Hiko Seijuurou and Shinomori Aoshi had established contact. Shouin was not one to underestimate people, especially not Hiko Seijuurou. He had simply known that Hiko Seijuurou would not initiate any meeting with Shinomori even if the detection of the scouts' presence allowed him to come to any conclusions. He was, however, well aware of the possibility that Shinomori would seek assistance from Hiko and initiate a meeting, which Hiko's awareness of the situation would allow for.

Well, he had had no choice. Anyway, he had something else on which he could fall back. Briskly striding out of the door and over to the room next to him, he tapped on the closed door, allowed a brief pause for courtesy's sake and opened it.

"Akio, initiate the Toukyou and Leak Protocols."


	3. Chapter 3: Frayed Loyalties

**Author's Notes:**

Ok, I've made a resolution to write longer chapters, hence the delay. Please forgive me and bear with me. I'll put more thought into when I should truncate my writing into another chapter, and, once I've decided what each chapter is for, I can name them.

Explanation of cultural/language elements:

_Oyako don_: A bowl of rice served with egg and onion cooked in mirin sauce.

East and West: To a Japanese, as can be observed on any Japanese map, Japan is near the centre of the world (in much the same way China calls itself the Middle Kingdom), so to its left would be the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa. In the middle is the Pacific Ocean. To its right would be the continents of North and South America. Hence, technically, "West" refers to the conventional East when spoken of by a Japanese. In the case mentioned in this chapter, "West" refers to China and other Eastern countries like India, which were a source of many interesting fruits, such as dragon fruit, milk fruit and durian. I presume that it would be around the time of this story that trade would be on the rise as the treaties Japan made with the West entitled the West to use Japan as a stopover port on ships' routes to China and the East. Hence, new varieties of fruit and produce would start to come into Japan.

_Nani yo!_: What on Earth! Or something like that. Like an emphasised "What".

_Itachi_: Weasel, Misao's nickname.

_sama_: Honorific... something to the extent of "Lord". It holds more respect that –_san_. However, in this context, it was used sarcastically.

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**Chapter 3: Frayed Loyalties**

"Well, what are you dawdling around for? The clock is ticking," Hiko interjected Aoshi's thoughts. _The poor bloke probably can't believe that he's neglected noticing Omasu._ Hiko himself had expected Aoshi to have noticed _that_ on his own. _Emotional involvement then... it's well known to cloud objectivity. He must have been suspecting that his enemy had used the weasel all along._

"Aa. I need you to help me execute my plan now, then. We have to both return to the Aoiya to keep a check on, or even restrain, Omasu and Misao," Aoshi explained. "I need you to help me look out for Misao too, just in case I was wrong about Omasu."

_Wise to let me take Misao on_, Hiko thought.He nodded and the duo sped off towards Kyouto without another word, Hiko taking the lead and extending it rapidly. He didn't bother slowing down for Aoshi, because it was tactically better that he be seen in Kyouto before Aoshi was. It would leave any scouts with an amount of uncertainty, buying Hiko enough time to get to Misao, probably the more important target, with his god-like speed, whereas if Aoshi had been seen in Kyouto first, alarm bells were sure to go off immediately in the enemy's camp.

Just before Hiko broke out of the woods, he took his mantle off without breaking his rhythm or compromising his speed and carried it slung over his arm. He would need as little attention as he could get once in Kyouto, just in case he had to wander around for some time looking for Misao should she have left the Aoiya.

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Along the bustling street outside the Aoiya, an average-looking man carried a scarlet pile of folded cloth in front of him such that they rested on his forearms. He stopped to face the inn's entrance and stood there for a while, not in a hurry to go anywhere.

Inside the inn, in the dining hall on the ground floor, Omasu cheerfully delivered a bowl of o_yako don_ from the kitchen to the waiting guest. Setting the bowl in front of the guest, she caught a glimpse of scarlet from out of the corner of her eye and yawned. Then, not knowing why or how, she decided that she _had_ to see Misao, and quite immediately at that.

Quickly changing out of her duty attire, she exited the inn, hurriedly walking past the man with the scarlet cloth, who still stood there looking uncertain, as if he contemplated having his breakfast in the Aoiya. Apparently deciding otherwise, he shrugged and continued along his journey in the original direction in which he had been heading.

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A young boy with a characteristically spiky hairstyle carried a tofu tub, headed towards the market which served his area of Toukyou. He threw the tub to the floor vehemently, muttering incoherently and annoyed by some issue presumably related to the tub, then kicked it ahead of him as he walked along, in much the same way he would dribble a ball.

A passing bicyclist ran over the tub, cracking it on one side and warranting a rebuke from the boy, which in turn resulted in a dispute between the two.

The bicyclist finally gave in, inducing the boy to smirk. "Well, I suppose it will cost me less to just give you a tub of mine, since it's cheap enough." Sighing once more, he beckoned, "Follow me to my home, then."

The boy trotted along behind, but was told to go ahead when they entered a narrow alley between houses as the bicyclist had to dismount. Seconds after taking the lead, the boy saw the bicyclist's shadow cast over him, but didn't have the time to be disturbed by it as a sweet smelling cloth was pressed over his nose and he gave in to blissful oblivion.

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Aoshi leapt from rooftop to rooftop, his heart pounding ever more vigorously as the Aoiya came into view. He sensed neither Misao's presence, which was disturbing, but neither did he feel the Mitsurugi Ryuu master's _ki_, which left a small measure of comfort as it implied that Hiko was on Misao's trail. That was quickly crushed when he realised that Omasu wasn't in either. Finally, landing on the Aoiya rooftop, he frowned as he surveyed the street outside it, hoping to catch sight of his quarry.

Instead, his eyes fell on a certain cloth peddler. Something about him screamed for Aoshi's undivided attention. Perhaps, it was the peculiarity and intensity of the colour of the cloth, which made him stand out like a _gaijin_ in the countryside. Perhaps, it was his refined way of walking, which normal peddlers could not spare the time to cultivate. Or perhaps, it was the fact that judging from the way he carried the cloth and from the lack of a variety of colours, he had to be an errand boy, not one who was looking to sell his wares. Yet, he was no boy, judging from the motley of varicose veins which bulged from his calves.

Aoshi's eyes narrowed. He leapt along the street on the rooftops towards the peddler and pounced on him from behind. The peddler's smaller frame was slammed into the ground, his cloth falling after him. In the moment that the peddler took to be stunned as he took stock of his situation, Aoshi quickly recovered into a standing position, wrenching the peddler up with him by gripping the back of his _gi_ and locking his neck in a stranglehold with the crook of his right arm. Not pausing to give the peddler any respite, Aoshi swiftly immobilised his legs by lifting them and locking them up against his body with the crook of his left arm, positioning them at an unnatural, twisted angle with respect to the rest of his body. This drew a choked cry from the smaller man.

With the quarry securely and snugly anchored to him, Aoshi shot himself into the alleys to avoid the consummate attention of the crowds and kept darting through the labyrinth of back streets until he was sure he could not have been followed. Hurling the peddler to the ground and snapping him back up, Aoshi pinned him to the wall, once more immobilising him.

"Where is Omasu?" Aoshi practically spat at the peddler.

Knowing that to feign ignorance would be futile, the peddler glowered back at Aoshi and maintained his silence.

Upon discerning his intentions, Aoshi promptly reached down to the peddler's right hand and grabbed his index finger, "Then you will not lay this upon me." The peddler's eyes widened as Aoshi snapped the peddler's finger backwards, bringing his finger nail to touch the back of his hand. The peddler howled as the skin on his palm-side stretched and ripped.

"Tell me," Aoshi demanded, not loosening his grip on the peddler's tortured hand.

When the peddler had regained his breath and his wits, he hissed, "I don't know! She's gone to find the girl, wherever she is."

Aoshi dropped the peddler and vanished into the rooftops again, but not before he heard a string of expletives from his victim.

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Misao was miffed when she had found out that Aoshi had still been out training by the time she awoke. That meant that Aoshi would not be back until evening. It also meant not delivering lunch to him and missing their time together, a disturbingly regular occurrence as of late. Hoping to distract herself from the frustration, she had decided to spend the time, normally taken up preparing Aoshi's meals, taking a stroll through the marketplace. She loved feasting her eyes on the colourful toys and lanterns which constantly evolved from season to season as toy-makers tried to outdo each other in creativity to attract more sales, spurred on by the new influx of Eastern ideas. She also enjoyed nosing around the fruit and vegetable stalls in hopes of spotting new types of fruit which had been recently imported from the West. Whenever she had spotted something new, she had taken the liberty to buy back enough for all the occupants of the Aoiya to sample. After all, it was pretty much in line with her unspoken motto of _carpe diem_.

She chanced upon a store selling a pinkish fruit with plastic looking skin and a leafy exterior. The "leaves" started out solid pinkish magenta from the base of the fruit and narrowed as they folded upwards and away from the fruit into green or yellow tips. Layers of these "leaves" overlapped each other slightly, converging at the top of the fruit like newly-planted shoots which had unusually thick "leaves", much like the top of a pineapple would look.

"Excuse me sir, what are these called and where are they from?" Misao inquired of the stall owner.

"Ah, good morning miss! Yes, interesting, aren't they? These are dragon fruits, from Vietnam, I believe. Would you like some?" The stall owner perked up at Misao's interest.

"Vietnam?" To Misao, that was a must-have.

After further probing, bargaining, threatening, curry favouring, and finally winning sympathy, Misao had the stall owner agree to an amount of money she was willing to part with and ended up buying a crate of the fruit. That would also mean the end of her little escapade through the market, but at least she would have something to do with her time now, which was, namely, preparing the fruits for the guests' lunch.

Lugging the crate along, Misao was in the midst of muttering something along the lines of how the rest of the Oniwabanshuu should appreciate her when she heard her name being called.

"Omasu-chan?" Misao responded as she spotted Omasu running and nudging her way through the crowd towards her from her right.

"There you are, Misao!"

"What's up?" Misao asked as Omasu approached her. Her eyes widened in shock as she realised that Omasu would not stop when she reached her. Misao barely had the time to unconsciously drop her crate of fruits as she braced herself before Omasu rammed into her, pushing her into the ground.

"Nani yo! Omasu!" Misao yelled, trying to push the other lady off her. Misao realised that Omasu was resisting her efforts to get back up just as she noticed that Omasu was holding a _kunai_ in her hand, then lifting her hand to strike.

"What're you doing Omasu!" Misao panicked, not knowing whether to protect herself or her friend.

She realised that she didn't have to make that decision when a tall shadow loomed over them and Omasu's hand came down harmlessly on Misao without the _kunai_ in it. Omasu spun around to kick the hindering party in the groin, only to have her leg caught in an iron grip by her ankle and lifted up so that she was hung upside down.

Above Omasu's thrashing legs, Misao caught sight of her rescuer and his red and white mantle draped over his arm, then gasped to herself, "Hiko Seijuurou... "

She gasped again when Omasu pulled out more _kunai_, hoping to embed them into the man. Raising his eyebrows, Hiko promptly dropped her and kicked her over before she had the chance to react, such that she was lying spread-eagled on the floor. He anchored her to the ground by planting a boot on her back, over her _obi_, and quickly gathered up her two arms by the wrist in his free hand, rendering her harmless. Nevertheless, Omasu still jerked her arms around, futilely trying to break his vice-like hold.

"Tsk tsk. Rabid, aren't we?" Hiko commented, glanced at the gathering crowd, somewhat amused and yet also somewhat grave, and turned to see if Misao was all right. She wasn't. He frowned.

The adrenaline had worn off and Misao had started to cry after she had realised that another was dealing with the problem for her. She wasn't sure what she was crying for. However, seeing Hiko restraining Omasu in such a violent way, she was confused for a second.

"What are you doing to her you bastard!" Misao charged at Hiko, raining punches down on his midriff, which happened to be at a most convenient height for her. "Let her go!"

_Bastard, eh?_ Hiko raised an eyebrow. Obviously, Hiko didn't let go, and the punches didn't faze him at all. Instead, with the arm he held the mantle with, he pressed Misao up against him not only to neutralise the force of any further punches, but also to comfort her. He had realised that Misao must have been in a very unstable emotional state after seeing one of her most trusted friends and confidants attacking her, and then watching as someone else whom she trusted only with reservation rough handling her friend.

"Quiet now girl... Your Aoshi-sama will be here soon," he said grimly, yet not unkindly. He knew that the familiar reference would put Misao at ease, who had given up her attack and started clinging to Hiko for support, burying her tear-ridden face in his dark blue shirt.

Seeing that Omasu had given up struggling and sensing from under his boot her regular rhythm of breathing, which indicated that she had fainted, Hiko sighed and let go of her wrists, lifting his foot off from her back to stand upright again. He decided against moving out of the limelight, knowing that it would enable Aoshi to arrive sooner.

Sighing again at the very people-full predicament he had once more wound up in, Hiko thought, _Well, at least itachi-sama here has stopped soaking my shirt._ He started on the arduous task of coaxing Misao off him by gently prying her away, then leaving her to sit numbly, staring at Omasu's now still form, as they waited.

Hiko smirked when he sensed Aoshi's approaching _ki_. _Thank the heavens! Now _he_ can deal with all this mushy emotional stuff. Still, not exactly Aoshi's forte, is it?_ Hiko noted with some amusement.

"Misao," Aoshi caught her attention when he leapt into the small clearing in the now dwindling crowd that watched them. Jerked out of her reverie, relief washed over her face and Misao now ran to Aoshi to embrace him.

"Aoshi-sama! _What_ is going on! Why did– "

"Hush... Other things are needful now," Aoshi hoped that was enough for the time being. "So it really was her," he looked to Hiko, seeking confirmation on the issue.

"Obviously." Hiko walked over to where he had dumped Omasu's kunai and picked it up, sniffing it. He had taken the liberty to put his mantle on again while Aoshi took care of Misao. "Seems like they had her use some kind of sedative. Planning a kidnapping, perhaps?" Hiko had been careful not to imply that it was Omasu's own doing.

Aoshi nodded, taking in the scene before him while Hiko and Misao waited patiently. After a while, he nodded at Hiko again and turned to Misao, "Misao, will you allow Hiko to accompany you to the Aoiya? I'll be there shortly with Omasu."

Hiko noted that Aoshi had chosen to ask, and not to order, softening the statement for Misao.

Misao nodded, already beginning to recover, and Hiko initiated the journey back, but not before Misao "Oh"-ed and picked up the crate of fruits.

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Hiko chose to stop outside the Aoiya's back entrance with Misao to wait for Aoshi's return with Omasu. He certainly didn't want to be the one explaining the whole mess to the Oniwabanshuu, and neither was Misao in any condition to receive an onslaught of questions and concern.

Aoshi soon returned as well, carrying Omasu in his arms. He had tied her hands and feet together very securely, placing pieces of cloth between the ropes and her skin to minimise any pain inflicted. Wordlessly, Aoshi passed Hiko by and entered the Aoiya.

The kitchen greeted them first, followed by an Okon who only realised that she had questions to ask when she noticed Hiko, then Omasu's tied limbs. Aoshi quickly shook his head at her to stave off any probing, then motioned with a turn of his head for Okon to go upstairs. She promptly obeyed, also automatically knowing to gather the rest of the Oniwabanshuu. Leaving the crate in the kitchen, Misao brought up the rear of the small procession and headed upstairs as well.

By the time Misao had ascended the last step, Okina and the three other members had already gathered in the training hall, the only place in the Aoiya open enough for them to confer.

"Before you explain, Aoshi, a passenger pigeon delivered this note to you. I suspect it has something to do with all this?" Okina slid the note over to Aoshi after he had set Omasu down in their midst.

Expressionless, Aoshi calmly unfolded the note and read its contents. The only outward appearance of surprise he let on was a slight quickening of his breathing. He crushed the note, closed his eyes for a brief moment and looked up at his colleagues with resolution, then proceeded to explain everything as he experienced it, chronologically and leaving no details, save emotions, out.

"So we now have to figure out how to get Omasu out of this psychological mess," Okina frowned.

"And what about the note?" Hiko asked.

Aoshi paused once more, then answered, "Apparently, they've now targeted our friends in Toukyou."

Hiko raised an eyebrow in curiosity at this.

Aoshi continued, "They've repeated what they've done to Omasu on someone at Toukyou. So that's the new threat. If we do not help Kuroda out, Himura and his friends will be in grave danger."

"Clearly, it will not be Sagara or my baka deshi... any one with half a wit will know that it's too dangerous to attempt them."

"How about Kaoru-san?" Misao worriedly asked.

Hiko remained unworried, apparently having already figured out the answer to that one. However, it was Aoshi who first answered, "Probably not. It would really trigger a dangerous reaction from Himura."

At Misao's continued failure to comprehend, Hiko explained, "While he does care for all in his lot quite a bit, it is well known, albeit except to himself, that his feelings for that Kamiya girl go well beyond caring. In other words, she is the one person he loves most."

"Oh..."

"The children who often play in the doujou would be too small to cause much harm, and the old doctor Genzai would be too old and weak to be formidable," Aoshi went on.

"Then there's the Tsukioka Tsunan guy," Okina wondered. "No, he's not closely enough associated with them to do anything. The only contact that Himura and the rest have had with him was passing or during battle. Anyway, he's moved out of Toukyou recently."

"Myoujin is a feasible one," Aoshi finally concluded.

"Or Takani, who would be an even better bet, since if they get any wounds, she would be the one tending them," Okina added, knowing that Aoshi had not wanted to bring it up that Takani was a good target.

"I'm afraid to say that in all your arduous wondering, you've neglected a very important issue," Hiko interjected. Once he had their expectant looks, he continued, "Even after neutralising the threat like we've done today, not to mention the difficulty of even _attempting_ to get to Toukyou _without_ setting off alarms, we still have to get this ninja gang that you've mentioned to undo the screwy bits in Omasu's and the other victim's heads, if at all possible." He paused to allow their inferior intellects to digest his words. "Which means we will have to track down Kuroda Shouin, wheedle the information we need out of him and incapacitate him so the same old sop story will not repeat itself," Hiko looked pointedly at Aoshi, who immediately diverted his eyes to a spot on the floor somewhere between Omasu and himself. Hiko chuckled inwardly... had the situation not been so grim and the threat so ominous, he would have thought that Aoshi deserved to be taught a lesson or two on the subtlety of maintaining cross-gender relationships.

Thankfully for Aoshi, he now had the attention of all only because he was the only one who had had contact with Shouin. "I will go to meet him if he summons," he confirmed.

"Hmm," Okina pondered. "We cannot depend on him to summon you again, however. He doesn't trust you now. Even so, if you do anything to him, he holds the cards – he probably has some protocol to carry out the threat in Toukyou... which was probably how the threat was so swiftly executed here."

Hiko was beginning to get impatient that they had yet to snag onto the really obvious solution, which, quite frankly, displayed their inadequacy. _What idiots. We could just take out the scouts sent to watch us, then wring out of them the method by which they keep the Kuroda guy updated. It can easily confirmed if they're telling the truth by interrogating them separately, then confusing them by saying that the other cracked and told the truth... Then of course we can crash both Toukyou and Shouin's office to nullify any said threats. Such a simple matter which solves all sorts of problems, and yet they're beating around the bush..._

Hiko, however, was not inappropriately arrogant. _They_ were the _onmitsu_ here, not him (precisely why they should be ashamed), so if he had brought the solution up, he wouldn't have been helping by having them doubt their own abilities. _No, that wouldn't do. I think I've said enough already._ It was better to insult them the way he usually did – outright and without justification, so they'd know he did not mean to undermine their abilities, than to point it out to them in such a painful way. Besides, he was also wise enough to correctly estimate their abilities – that they would eventually figure it out. Instead, he rose to his feet and, grinning, excused himself, "While you small brains strain yourselves over this issue, I shall better spend my time checking out your _sake_ supply. Oh, and you might want to further sedate Omasu to protect her from emotional distress."

Misao finally found familiar ground to tread on, "Why you arrogant jerk! Don't you know how serious th–" and the _shouji_ slid shut in her fact. She was about to go on grumbling when she caught sight of Okina's still grave expression and lapsed into silence to let the more capable people do their thinking.

Finally, however, they came to precisely Hiko's conclusion and followed his advice for Omasu. It would, indeed, be far less painful for her to have slept through the entire ordeal. It would be tomorrow that the operation would start.

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Author's notes (again):

Hmm, I understand that Misao is supposed to be quite a strong character. However, she _did_ become quite numb on a few occasions. One was when Usui nearly killed her. Instead of escaping, she froze in surprise, so her reactions aren't that quick and she probably experienced panic then, which caused her to be stunned. Another occasion was when Okina told Kenshin to kill Aoshi. Misao noticeably fell quite silent during that exchange, instead of being her normal fiery self and arguing with Okina over the issue. Then, she proceeded to cry when Kenshin told her that he'd bring Aoshi back. Also, she had that stunned look back when Aoshi was fighting Okina.

Hence, here, she's in that stunned mood again. I've decided on that because of the reason that Hiko thinks of... because she's shocked to see that _Omasu_ of all people is the one who attacks her. She's also frozen in panic because she doesn't know whether to fight with Omasu, which might get Omasu hurt. Then, there's the third element of surprise, compounding Misao's trauma, because Hiko, which she presumably hasn't seen around much, especially in Kyouto, suddenly jumps into the picture and treats Omasu so aggressively (ok, it's not counted as aggressive, coming from Hiko, but still, it must have looked so to Misao). Furthermore, Hiko looks like he's been expecting the situation, especially so because the comment on being rabid doesn't at all express surprise at the situation he finds himself in. (He didn't say, "What have we here?" Compare that to what he _did_ say, "Rabid, aren't we?")

Yeap, so I hope that it explains the totally useless (in this chapter) Misao.

On Hiko's "superiority"... I think his strength is certainly wisdom and intelligence. I'm not portraying him as perfect... his other flaws such as his pride are very real issues, even if he keeps his them in check as is the case in this chapter. Despite being kept in check, his pride could, for instance, prevent him from helping until it's too late in some circumstances, or could, in another instance, hurt him emotionally when he decides not to trust anyone but himself, making his existence a very lonely one. It also makes it very painful when he DOES make mistakes, which should be inevitable for an human being no matter how wise he is.

Also, there're other flaws in his philosophy... despite being compassionate and wielding his sword to protect people based on personal justice, where lies the compassion in divorcing himself from the real world by secluding himself in the mountains when his help would sorely be needed by many, as Kenshin's wandering years have proven?

Yeap, so all that I'm saying is that he may look "perfect" here, but that's just because it's only been a short while that we've glimpsed him in this story, and because it doesn't show the other facets of his life.

If there're any mistakes like

1) English mistakes (eg. grammar, spelling etc...)

2) Loopholes in the plot

please do tell me! I will correct them. Thank you for reading. Please comment if you can!


	4. Chapter 4: The Heart Matters

**Author's Notes:**

**Streetwise Girl**: Thanks for being my only faithful reviewer yet! Haha, it's much appreciated!

Iya – informal/unrefined version of "Iie", meaning "no"

Anou / Eeto – stammering words, equivalent to "err" or "umm"

Sumanai – informal "sumimasen", meaning "excuse me" or "sorry"

Gomen – "sorry"

Mou – expression of annoyance/disapproval/frustration

Baka – "Idiot" or "stupid"

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**Chapter 4: The Heart Matters**

As evening approached, Misao gazed at the ripples which travelled over the small surface area of the water in the basin. She was sitting out her vigil on Omasu's almost still form, and she had taken the luxury to slip into a reverie of sorts.

That afternoon, when it had been revealed to her the difficulty in which Aoshi had been, it had revived her hope that, perhaps, Aoshi would start opening up to her more, now that the immediate threat was over. Still, in the intervening hours, he hadn't given her much reason to believe that his attitude towards her would change any time soon.

_Maybe he's just too caught up with preparing for tomorrow's mission... Silly me, it's only been a few hours after all..._ Misao tried to resolved to give him more time first before she'd start to mope again.

Next was the issue of her position as the 'Okashira'. Ever since Aoshi had participated and in effect dominated decisions in the Enishi incident, she had felt that it was absolutely ludicrous to try to assert her right to the title. Now, she pretty much wanted to drop it like a hot potato and was contented, even glad, that Aoshi had once more resumed his rightful role in practice. Yet, she knew that status quo could not continue, considering that it would make her look like a fool to keep the title and that allowing Aoshi to subtly take charge without his having the official title back served only to remind him of his relatively recent and rather grave error. Nor did Misao fancy all the other Oniwabanshuu members tip-toeing around the issue every time it became apparent, like when Aoshi was the primary one facilitating the conference earlier that day.

However, try as she might, she had no idea how she could give the title back to him subtly... and it would be hard to do so obviously without unearthing too many rotting issues regarding his period of absence.

And then there was Hiko... Misao really didn't quite know what to make of him. Immediately after he'd helped them all out by staving Fuji off and then defeating him, she had thought that he was pretty damn cool, never mind his arrogance. Of course, since Aoshi had always been the only one for her, she would never deign to fall head over heels for him as Okon and Omasu had. Still, it was altogether a positive first impression.

Then, as the day had dragged on as they had waited for their heroes' return, he had proven to be a bit too snobbish for her to take any longer, and she had had to think twice about her initial assessment, even blowing up at Hiko later that day (only to earn a hearty chuckle from the man, which had only aggravated matters for her).

That morning had been the second encounter with Kenshin's master, and, once more, she had found herself having to reassess him. Although the full implications of his actions towards her that morning hadn't dawned upon her until after the conference-of-sorts, her mind had subconsciously registered in that spur of the moment his gentleness as he had half-hugged her to himself while she had gone ballistic. Upon further reflection, she also remembered his referring to Aoshi as "her" Aoshi-_sama_, which, she decided, went a long way to putting her at ease. More importantly, it was during those few silent moments, after her sobs had died down but before Hiko had moved to coax her off him, that she had felt totally safe and secure, that everything would turn out all right in the end. It was a peace that she hadn't experienced in a long time, not even with Aoshi, considering the distance that he had kept wedged between them since his return.

Misao sighed. His effect on her was just as puzzling as her responses to him.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sliding open of the _shouji _to Omasu's room.

"Misao-chan?" Okon poked her head in. "I've come to take over from you..., " Okon explained, stepping into the room.

"Okon...! Aa, hai," Misao perked up and acknowledged Okon, standing up to leave, then inquired, "What are Aoshi-sama and the rest doing?"

"Aoshi-sama's still ironing out the details of tomorrow's mission with Okina... maybe you should wait till he's done before seeking his company, ne?"

"Oh... Okay then," Misao seemed somewhat crestfallen as she slid the _shouji_ shut, and Okon smiled gently upon seeing this... if Misao had ears that protruded like a rabbit's, they would be drooping ever-so-cutely now.

Misao lazily and loudly let herself down the stairs into the quiet pre-dinner lull of the dining area, wondering how she could pass her time until she could approach Aoshi-sama. As she stepped out of the kitchen into the private garden lawn behind the Aoiya, she caught sight of the now familiar white mantle and its bearer, who was sitting quietly and facing the pond at the other end of the garden, some fifty metres away.

Seeing that she didn't want to find herself stuck in any situation alone with the Hiten master, and considering the fact that he seemed to be meditating, she quietly started to withdraw her foot from the lawn and turned to go back in.

"Seeking respite for your restless mind, itachi?"

_Dang!_ Well, she supposed she shouldn't have expected him not to have felt her presence anyway.

Turning around to see him emanating his trademarked smirk over his shoulder, she retorted, "Why should that be any of your business? Anyway, what do you mean by 'restless'? I'm not a kid anymore, y'know." Then she glared at him.

"Hah!" He turned back to face the pond, then sighed before patting the ground next to him, motioning for her to join him. Curious and a little unnerved, Misao gingerly made her way over before cautiously setting herself down no less than two feet away from him.

She had to sit expectantly for about one minute before it occurred to her that Hiko had simply resumed meditating.

"Oi! Didn't you want to say something to me?" Misao interrupted him again, increasingly annoyed.

Hiko let out that maddening chuckle of his, then, to Misao's incredulity, settled for a slight, but nonetheless real, smile. "The silence just unsettles you, doesn't it?"

"Well, doesn't it most people?" Misao raised her eyebrow questioningly.

"You are right when you say 'most', but only because 'most' haven't yet arrived at a point when they are, for the better part, emotionally settled and at peace with themselves."

"And _you_ have?"

Hiko grunted, "I think, however, that you're more curious about whether that is the case for Shinomori."

"How would you know where my curiosity lies anyway?" Misao was starting to feel just a tiny bit provoked.

Ignoring her question, Hiko continued, "His silence when he meditates ruffles you and his lack of comment on the status of your relationship with him irks you because you don't know what it means. You're worried that he's becoming settled without you in the equation, while you, on the other hand, know that you're still flailing about, hoping to latch on to him good because he is your crutch."

As Hiko proceeded in his argument, Misao began to feel somewhat strangled, her blood pressure rising, her heart pounding and her face heating up... she felt altogether entrapped, like something was closing in on her.

Jumping to her feet, she snapped just as he finished, "And _WHAT_ do you _know_ about me? Why do you care anyway?" She had contemplated just walking out on this hurtful discussion, but her legs willed her to stay because deep down, she was desperate to find out his conclusion on the matter. "You think you're so sagely when it comes to relationships... what _credentials_ do _you_ have anyway? Okon and Omasu?" Misao nearly spat the last few lines out as she felt fluid warmth begin coursing down her cheeks.

Hiko barely moved from his seated position, but he did bore daggers into her with his eyes and seemed to tense up a little... and was it a tinge of red she saw on his face? Then, he fell back into a relaxed posture.

"Your _ki_ felt so much in turmoil each time your thoughts turned to Aoshi just now in the training hall," Hiko started, then sighed, "I just thought to tell you not to give up." At Misao's continued silence, Hiko went on, "Aoshi is _not_ settled. He does, on the contrary, seem quite steady with you safe and around him. And in case you're wondering, he meditates to sort issues out... his _ki_ has cleared much since he came back from Mt Hiei that day."

Misao seemed to have gone numb as Hiko had explained, so she finally let out a bewildered "Huh?"

Hiko sighed once more, "He won't keep up his habit of meditation forever... no form of therapy is required forever. You will get the affectionate response you so desire out of him some day."

Everything within Misao froze, her mind struggling to grapple with the implications of what he had said. She couldn't help but to let herself be bombarded with images of Aoshi smiling at her, holding her... comforting her...

Then, for the second time that day, an onslaught of tears and sobs consumed her. However, unlike those of the unpleasant experience that morning, these were for the relief she felt, and she had no need of Hiko's comfort – he had already given it.

When Misao had finally managed to suppress her sobs and stem her tears, she swiped the backs of her hands across her cheeks and looked tentatively at Hiko, who gave her that reassuring smile that she had once seen him give Kaoru over his opinion of Kenshin's welfare.

Now, it was Misao's turn to let out a sigh, partly in relief and partly in exhaustion, "Arigatou."

"Aa," he acknowledged, then started to meditate again after an appropriate pause.

For a while, Misao had begun to enjoy the silence and let her eyes wander. Then, they came to rest on Hiko once more, so she gave in to letting herself gaze at him in the same reverie she had been in that morning.

Suddenly, observing Hiko, Misao remembered something about what he had just said to her. "Hiko-san? You said meditation was therapy... Well, I can guess what Aoshi-sama might need it for... But why do _you_ meditate?"

Hiko raised an eyebrow at her. "It doesn't _have_ to be for therapy. In Shinomori's case, though, it is."

Misao grinned. _Finally, it's my turn to grin, heh._ She had wisened up to Hiko's evasions. "So, tell me, do _you_ do it for 'therapy'?" Misao had the delight of seeing his eyebrow twitch as she fired the question.

"Maybe."

"Aw, that's so non-committal..." Misao said in mock dismay and giggled for the first time that day. _Boy is he gonna hate the word 'therapy' when this is through._ She knew that Hiko could easily lie to her, but she also knew that he was not a man to do that in such a situation.

"Yes, then," he bit out. "Have you had enough of disrupting my peace?"

"Well, _you're_ the one who engaged me when I'd tried to leave you alone initially," Misao countered and began to mull over the fact that Hiko needed "therapy". Then, it struck her just what it might have been for. "You're worried about Himura, aren't you?" She beamed triumphantly and was rewarded with another twitch.

"Aren't you?" Hiko growled back.

"Nah, I'm sure Himura will be fine! I'm not too concerned for Yahiko-_chan_ anyway, although I'll be worried if Megumi-san is the one being used. Still, I'm sure that they'll settle it as easily as we did for Omasu. She's fine now, and all we have to do is to carry out..." Misao trailed off as Hiko narrowed his eyes. "What?" Misao prodded.

Hiko hesitated, casting her a scrutinising look, then replied, "It's not that simple. The Kuroda guy would no doubt advance his threat. The victim might be subconsciously instructed to commit suicide rather than attack another person."

Misao felt some colour drain from her face.

Upon seeing this, Hiko immediately added gruffly, "No use worrying about it. Don't go stirring up the entire inn in your anxiety, and don't make me regret telling you."

"H-hai," Misao tried to assure him. She was, thankfully, beginning to get distracted by the increased chatter of more guests and the bustling in the kitchen, heralding dinner time. "I'll go help Shiro and Kuro in the kitchen then, ne?"

Hiko merely nodded, then continued to meditate... or contemplate the pond, perhaps, but Misao didn't stay to find out as she involved herself in the ritual of preparing dinner.

Some time into her preparation, wood sliding against wood and the deep, but hushed, voices of Okina and Aoshi interrupted her concentration on the tasks at hand. She hurriedly shuffled outside.

"Aoshi-sama, so what's the final deal?"

Aoshi nodded in her direction, "Later, Misao." Then, he turned back to Okina to round off their discussions.

"Un..., " she blushed, barely, as she murmured.

She hoped that Aoshi hadn't thought her to be stepping out of her place by asking that question or by interrupting them. _Well, he shouldn't. After all, I _am_ the Okashira, even if only in name..._ She figured, however, that he would share the outcome of the deliberations over the dinner table with everyone in a semi-official address, which meant that she'd have to wait till later that evening or night, after dinner was out of the way and the washing was done.

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Hiko had been the last to join them at the dinner table, sauntering slowly in from his spot in the garden. When they had all settled down, Aoshi had shared the plan with them. Hiko seemed to have approved of it, holding his silence throughout the discussions.

Then, Misao had waited quite impatiently for dinner to be over, noted that Aoshi had gone up to his room, got the dishes done in a jiffy and proceeded upstairs.

She tapped lightly on his room door and waited for his acknowledgement before entering to see him clearing some papers from his desk.

"Aoshi-sama... are you free now?" She prompted him uncertainly.

"Aa," he affirmed, not bothering to stop what it was that he was already doing – it was a custom between Misao and him that Misao would just make conversation as he went about his business; he didn't _really_ have to be free.

"I...," it was then that Misao realised that she hadn't any specific reason for wanting to speak with him. She had just... wanted to. _Oh no, great, _now_ I don't even know what to say to him._

"Can I just sit here? It won't bother you, will it?" She asked lamely and plopped herself on the floor just next to the _shouji_.

Aoshi seemed to pause, then looked over his shoulder to observe her from out of the corner of his eye for a while and uttered another "Aa" before turning back to the desk.

For a while, he just sat at his desk, and Misao wondered if her presence really _did_ bother him. It wasn't the first time that she had done this, but she usually found an excuse or an errand to accomplish, even if it was just waiting for him to finish his meals at the temple. Today, however, it was the first time that she was stating anything about her feelings towards him. Indeed, it _was_ a very bold statement, because surely he had known that she had come up immediately after completing her chores and gone right past her room without even bothering to tidy up... and then to just _sit_ there in his room for no particular reason at all. As Misao thought about all this, she began to blush. _No wonder he gave me that strange look and stopped what he was doing._

After a while, Aoshi (finally) carried on with what he had to do and started to write something. Ironically, this made Misao feel even more awkward than she had before. Now that he was carrying on with his own business, her presence here was even more redundant because she didn't even have the _excuse_ of interacting with him. _Great!_

She began to grow restless and started scratching at gaps in the wood on the floor. Why _am I here? _She sighed, then looked at Aoshi, hoping he would just ignore her until she figured out issues for herself. At another time, she would have spoken to Aoshi about her day and asked him about his. Today, however, on top of the fact that she was just sick and tired of all the superficial attempts at a _real_ conversation, there was the gravity of the Kougikinsei issue hanging in the air, as well as the weight of the words Hiko had earlier spoken bearing down on her heart... and she just... couldn't muster the strength to pretend at having a good conversation with Aoshi anymore. Instead, she had come, simply wanting his affection.

"Is there... something on your mind, Misao?"

Misao looked up from her scratching to realise that Aoshi had once more paused his work and was looking at her from over his shoulder.

In an ephemeral vision, she saw herself cheerfully scratching the hair at her nape and scrambling to assure him that everything was all right... she even almost did just that. But right as her hand was about to go up and she was about to take the breath to say those words, she failed to and stopped short.

Instead, she found herself stuttering, "Eeto... anou... H-... Iya. I... don't know?" _Baka, you were supposed to say "No"!_

Aoshi had slowly put down his brush as she had sputtered denial, and turned around in his chair to face her just as she had finished. She had returned to looking at the floor, so she did not notice him.

"Misao. What's wrong?"

The hint of worry in his voice caught her attention, and she looked up again to see him frowning (in concern?) at her.

"I...," she trailed off, letting her eyes dart away from locking with his as she despairingly tried to continue. Then, for the third time that day, she felt the dreaded warmth and wetness in her eyes as the first few trickles of tears started to appear. She bit her lip, then quickly muttered, "Sumanai," and picked herself up shakily, but briskly, making her way out of the room.

As she slid shut the _shouji_ to Aoshi's room and shuffled to her own, she had no way of knowing that Aoshi was consumed by panic even as he remained seated in his room. Instead, she slumped down in her _futon_ and curled up in it as she let the tears flow more freely, hugging the soft material to her chin. She certainly hoped that the tears would stop soon... if she went to sleep crying, she would awake with puffy eyes and attract not just Aoshi's attention, but that of the whole inn, not to mention Hiko. It would also make it a little harder to speak to Aoshi when she saw him again.

Just when Misao was beginning to absorb herself in thought once more, she heard a soft tapping on the door. Her voice too thick by crying, she couldn't respond before the door slid open slowly and quietly, if not hesitantly, to reveal Aoshi's dark form against the light that streamed in from outside her room.

"May I... come in?"

Misao mutely nodded, still lying on her _futon_.

"Gomen ne, Aoshi-sama...," she tried to start.

Aoshi didn't reply to that, but shut the _shouji_ again and sat down, cross-legged, a few feet from Misao and her _futon_. He seemed like he was about to open his mouth to say something for a while, but still, he said nothing. In that silence, Misao drew herself up into a sitting position and, sniffling, wiped the tears away with some covers.

Finally, he spoke, "Have I..." Trailing off, he quickly cleared his throat, then started again, "Can I do anything to make you feel better?"

Dazed, Misao didn't know what to make of the question. "I... I guess I'm just tired and all... what with this morning and...," she trailed off again.

"Aa." Aoshi didn't seem to know what else to say. The room was silent again.

"Back there, you... seemed very edgy and unsettled. Does this have anything to do with... me?" Aoshi carefully pried. Upon seeing Misao's immediate reddening, he inadvertently shifted his legs.

_I suppose there's no point trying to deny it anymore. _Misao sighed. _Besides, he seems willing enough to really start talking now._ Forgetting her tears, Misao took the plunge, "Aoshi-sama... What do you... think of me?"

Strangely enough, Misao noted, Aoshi seemed not in the least bit surprised. Then, she found herself marvelling as she thought she saw Aoshi's hand tremble ever so slightly. Finally, though, he took a relatively deep breath and, nearly sighing, he started to share with her for the first time ever.

"Misao, I... I'm sorry." He paused, as if not knowing how, or whether, to continue, but did so anyway. "Thank you... for being so patient with me." He paused again. "I know I've taken a long time, but I had to sort things out. On that boat to Yukishiro's, I finally... found many answers... Then, Kuroda stepped in." He took a breath. "Your presence and support have helped me greatly. You mean a lot to me. Thank you."

All this while, Misao's look had slowly turned into a stunned glare. When he had finally finished and Misao realised that she had been staring, she quickly broke eye contact and cleared her throat, coughing some and blushing some.

"Uh... Iya, it was nothing much... but, arigatou," she muttered. After a few more moments of silence, Misao began to get over her initial shock and was actually somewhat cheered up. "Aoshi-sama, you mean a lot to me too..." she beamed joyfully at him.

At this, he nodded and the corners of his lips lifted ever so faintly. However, that wasn't the thing that really caught her attention. It was his eyes that changed the most. They were the same eyes that she had last seen when she had been five and pulling all sorts of antics in front of him... the eyes that smiled, that warmed you more than any lip smile could.

Misao was quite content to bask in the magical moment for a while more, but then, she remembered her curiosity about something he had said, and couldn't ignore it.

"Ne, Aoshi-sama, you said you found many answers... what sort of answers were they?"

He lifted an eyebrow at her for a while, then frowned in thought. "I was troubled by my mistakes with Hannya and the rest. I struggled with my understanding of Himura. Then I... I also struggled with understanding you."

Misao digested this for a while, then prompted, "So..."

"I decided to help Himura and others in need should I meet such, and to be... honourable that way. I also decided that Himura had never liked what he did, even as a _hitokiri_. He has always been the same person, only with different realisations now."

Aoshi paused for a long while. Misao waited for the last part patiently.

"I decided that you had also known that to be true of me, and you forgave me... And I found that I could... trust you."

Misao smiled, "And that you can, Aoshi-sama!"

"Aa."

Once more, silence descended, but it was an easy one this time... Then, once more, Misao found cause to break it.

"Ne, Aoshi-sama... anou... you know that whole business of the Okashira thing?"

"Aa."

"Do you think... uh, I don't really want to be Okashira anymore, kind of... since Aoshi-sama is more capable. I suppose I also don't quite know what to do in certain situations... so... I was thinking, can I give the title back to you?"

Was Aoshi actually beginning to look amused? "Aa."

"Erm, _how_?"

At this, and very much to Misao's wonderment and bewilderment, Aoshi began to laugh. The rare moment was over soon enough, though, and he replied, "What do you think?"

"Mou, Aoshi-sama! That's evading the question. Of course I've no idea what would be best or I wouldn't have asked you...," Misao grumbled.

"I have an idea, but tell me yours."

It was on this note that the two began to confer, plot and conspire.

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**Author's Notes:**

Ok, Misao cries a lot, I know... but that could be attributed to the fact that she _was_, after all, 1) emotionally strained or 2) tired. Also, you never know, but it might be her time of the month. XD

Also, some people might know what I mean, but for some people at least, it's hard to stop crying during the day once you've started to cry. You probably need to sleep or something to get the crying mindset/mood out of you. Either that, or a really good bout of humour.

Comments on my portrayal of Aoshi:

Man of few words. Yes, so his "sharing" with Misao was quite constipated . Besides, I think he's not very good at words either. Still, I feel that it was enough. Sure, there were a lot of things missing in between... but Misao would have at least asked by the end of the conversation if his implications weren't apparent to her.

If you don't understand the part where Aoshi is explaining his "answers" that he'd found, just take note that he's got a very logical mind, so he presents 3 problems with which he was grappling and then presents the 3 solutions in the correct order.

And yay... the ice has finally melted... whew!


	5. Chapter 5: Favourable Positions

**Author's Notes:**

**Streetwise Girl**: Haha, I quickly cleared things up between them because I don't think Aoshi is _that_ dense when it comes to relationships. And hey, I _do_ want to keep Hiko in the story... he's my favourite character! - Watch out for more of him here. Aoshi-Misao would be my close second (I like them both, and I like them paired, so I can't quite decide which I like better.)

**Skabs**: Wow! I didn't expect someone to review so long after posting. Thanks! Yeah, one forgets how young Misao is.

Also on Misao, people always marvel about Aoshi becoming the Okashira at 15, and yet, Misao, despite being a girl, took the title at 16 (or was it 17?), albeit in a different time and situation.

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**Chapter 5: Favourable Positions**

Dawn had yet to descend upon Kyouto as her residents began to stir. The coarse shuffling of sliding _shouji_ became ever more frequent as sloppy columns of smoke rose from heating breakfasts to meet the cool morning air, ushering the day in.

Amongst the earliest risers was Hiko, who had taken a walk out to a nearby field to enjoy some time to himself. Few truly understood just how much he valued his solitude. It gave him time to reflect on what he had observed around him, to contemplate the chaos that he had decided was life itself.

Thus, it was with the first hints of the coming bedlam that he picked himself up to participate in the minutiae of Aoiya life. As his feet carried him there, he turned his thoughts to a certain member of the Oniwabanshuu. He was grateful, albeit in an admittedly somewhat perverted way, that Omasu had not yet had the chance to interact with him as herself and that she was to be kept unconscious until some time later, whenever it was that Kuroda was finally apprehended. He had begun noticing Okon tensing up the slightest bit whenever he was around her and being very aware of everything he did. It was delicate enough for a normal person not to have noticed at all and hence not to have been bothered by it, but he was, after all, a genius. In any case, he figured that he should be glad he didn't have _two_ of them pining after him.

Still, Okon's behaviour was quite different from the glimpse into her character he had gotten after the battle with Fuji. Then, he distinctly recalled her as another one of those annoyingly ditzy girls who had no subtlety whatsoever... someone whose attention he could gloriously soak in at times and yet dread at others, but whose interaction he would never really enjoy. He still wasn't sure about the parts of his conclusion regarding attention and interaction, but he was quite certain now that the "ditzy" part was erroneous. Not that he had made a mistake, of course. He simply had less to go on that last time, and with insufficient information, not even a genius would conclude accurately except through a stroke of luck – and he knew how irrational it was to depend on _that_.

As the Aoiya came into view, however, he was reminded of a graver matter and, pushing the distracting thoughts aside, mentally ran over the discussed plan of action.

It had been decided that Hiko would pretend to go back to his mountain home, giving the Oniwabanshuu enough of an opening by reducing the number of scouts trained on them, as some would be forced to follow Hiko. Aoshi and Misao would be sent into town on an errand of sorts. Both Hiko and Aoshi them were to sense the lapse in _ki_, when the scouts first changed shifts, before taking any action.

Hiko scowled at the thought of the precarious plan that was to follow that, sliding the _shouji_ of the back entrance open. _It certainly is iffier than anyone in the Oniwabanshuu would be comfortable with, but it's the only plausible one. Hn._

Upon entry, his eyebrow unwittingly shot up at the scene before him. Indeed, his attention wasn't the only one rapt with the unfolding situation.

"Mou, Aoshi-sama! Why did you order that Omasu be tied down? It's too undignified a way to treat a lady! Imagine how she'll feel after she wakes up!"

Aoshi let a little pause elapse and eyed Misao as she squirmed emotionally, before finally retorting, "How is gender relevant?"

Stumped for a second, as if flustered by Aoshi not seeing the obvious, Misao quickly gathered her words, "Well, women are– "

"The drugs. She won't know," Aoshi promptly cut her off, the curtness drawing a smirk from Hiko. "But the dose is small – should she awake..."

"Oh, I thought you said that she won't know because of the drugs, and now you're telling me she might awake." Misao didn't look like she was about to be placated any time soon.

That last bit of nitpicking by Misao amused Hiko to no end. _Ah, I see, already into the bickering stage, eh? I wonder what happened yesterday_, Hiko thought as he ran his eyes over the bewildered faces of the other Oniwabanshuu, then relaxed, folding his arms, and let himself be entertained.

"Why can't we increase the dosage?" Misao suggested.

At that, Aoshi raised an eyebrow, "'Dignity' in exchange for a splitting headache?" Surprisingly enough to the Oniwabanshuu, the sarcasm in his voice was hard to miss.

"So cocky about your wit are you, Aoshi-sama? Well, it doesn't matter – as Okashira _and _a woman, I _order_ her untied and the dosage increased!" Misao finished impertinently as a reign of silence took over, the spectators not knowing whether to laugh or to become terrified.

"Hmm," Aoshi thoughtfully soothed the silence, playing a peculiarly strange role this time, Hiko decided. "Then as a dutiful _man_, I challenge you for the title of Okashira of the Oniwabanshuu."

Catching a gushing nosebleed from the corner of his eye and hearing a jaw connect with the ground somewhere else, it dawned upon Hiko that the two had set the whole thing up. What better way to transfer the title than over such a trivial issue and with two contradictory view points between which it would be hopeless to decide. It was done so deliberately amusingly that it met its probable goal of dispelling tension, both over the issue of the title and over the anticipated events of the day itself. Hiko let out a chuckle as the thenceforth notorious duo proceeded to the training hall.

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Misao had no words to describe just how she felt, being able to plan and execute the plan with Aoshi. In a sense, her fantasies were already coming true... Today, finally, she had been able to be in on a secret just between Aoshi and herself, leaving the rest of the world to marvel at what the two of them were accomplishing. It was really gratifying to the selfish and possessive part of her to have Aoshi giving her the preference of his trust over everyone else in the world.

The other perk of the bantering that transpired was how tickled she'd been by Aoshi's expressions and tones. It took every ounce of self-restraint she had not to burst out laughing and, perhaps, throwing a cushion at Aoshi half-way through. But Misao was not to be thought of as undependable... especially not by Aoshi.

Perkily, she padded after Aoshi to the training hall, Shiro, Kuro and Okon in tow.

However, the moment her foot hit the training hall floor, she snapped out of all the wistful emotions that she'd allowed herself to indulge in. She had to give this battle her all, to really concentrate and put her soul into this fight.

She had one less worry about the script. There was no way Aoshi was going to be beaten by her. That was obvious. Still, she could not be seen to give up without a fight in front of the rest. Besides, having such a duel with Aoshi was a thought that both the dignified, adventurous and sentimental parts of her truly relished, and yet she had never, never seriously pitted herself against him, not even during the interval between the Shishio affair and going off to face Enishi.

Even if she lost, she would show Aoshi just how much she'd improved, after her travels in search of him, seeing Himura's strength of character and sword skill, defeating Kamatari, soaking in the five spirit-driven battles on Enishi's island and, most compellingly, thrusting herself to the very limits of her strength as she trained intently and relentlessly by herself, venting her frustration over Aoshi's attitude towards her and charging herself to live up to his high standards.

Lost in thought as she reached into her memory and spirit to find her strength, she found that the stage was set for the duel to begin. She had unconsciously picked up her _kunai_ and stepped to face Aoshi, now holding his _kodachi_, in the middle of the hall, and the audience was expectant.

He would make the first move. After all, he was the one who had challenged her.

Then, he was at her, closing the distance between them in the time it took her to register his movement. Her body moved to retaliate before her brain knew to tell it to, dropping under him and moving too close for the useful range of his _kodachi_... too close, even, for her to be seriously hurt should he attempt to kick. Planting her hands firmly on the ground between and just in front of his legs, she swept her own up from beneath her into a high and powerful kick vertically upwards at his chin.

Pulling his lagging left arm backwards, Aoshi swung away from Misao's feet, spinning clockwise, and moved to kick her now vulnerable back, which was still upright and facing where he had been due to her over-committed kick.

In the time that Aoshi took to break his spin and shift his weight, Misao yanked her body down, dropping herself low to miss his kick. Then, in the same fluid movement, she spun around on the floor in a low kick to Aoshi's supporting right leg, swinging in the same direction as his own kick and remembering to draw her kunai as she did.

Aoshi barely managed to back-flip over Misao's sweep, only to find five _kunai_ coming at him. However, he had no difficulty dodging two and sweeping the remaining three aside.

After seeing Aoshi move right to dodge her two of her _kunai_, Misao easily predicted the arc which his right _kodachi_ would take, and, throwing another two _kunai_ to the right of the original five and to where Aoshi had now shifted his balance, she lunged forward on her left foot and made to swipe across at Aoshi's knuckles, thrusting with her torso the flat of her left hand and hoping to knock his right _kodachi_ off.

However, her hand met thin air. Instantly coming to the conclusion that he must have jumped over all her attacks and was already either on top of or behind her, she cart-wheeled forwards, hoping that she could put some distance between them to have the time to defend what he might throw at her.

She didn't stand a chance, as Aoshi kicked forwards at her tummy as she was upside-down in middle of her movement, increasing the momentum of her forward flip so drastically that she lost control and fell hard on her back.

She forced herself to recover from the rude jolt and the subsequent shock, just in time to catch sight of Aoshi's heel coming down at her chest in a downward heel-thrust. She rolled to the side and converted the kick into a painful and coarse, but much less powerful, brush to her side. Still, she managed to jump up and recover fully into a guarded, standing stance before Aoshi could next attack.

Assessing the situation, they were pretty much back at square one by tactical and positional considerations, both standing a few feet apart and facing each other, but Misao was perspiring and panting heavily in contrast to Aoshi's cool and controlled demeanour.

She had the sinking feeling that she would lose in the next bout, but she pushed that thought aside, concentrated and drew three more _kunai_, knowing full well that that thought would be half the battle lost. Once more, Aoshi would have to initiate the attack, but this time because Misao was too tired to initiate one effectively, what with Aoshi fully on guard for anything from her.

Again, Aoshi closed in quickly, but this time, knowing that Misao could deal well with high attacks, swept his _kodachi_ low at her feet. Misao promptly leapt above him, but because he seemed to be half expecting that, he had committed little in his low arm attack and could still turn upwards to face her, initiating an upward swipe with his other blade.

Misao, being in the air, had little recourse to avoiding that swipe by moving her body away. Instead, she desperately flung _kunai_ at him, at two odd positions outside the arc of his strike, that he would, hopefully, have to thwart the angle of his cutting line and miss her totally... which he did.

Finally able to return to the ground relatively unscathed, with Aoshi still in his position of a high air-ward attack, Misao threw a simple, forceful punch at his side, which Aoshi simply blocked with the fist which still grasped the hilt of his other _kodachi_, stopping her a mere inch away from his side.

Kicking upwards at his hand to break the lock between their fists, Misao tumble-rolled across his legs behind him. Suddenly, she gasped and froze as she saw blood on her hand. It was a wrong move, though, and as she heard further gasping from those watching, she also felt a leg fall heavily upon her back, thrusting her towards the ground once again, spread-eagled.

Before she could even possibly recover from such a vulnerable position, Aoshi had put his knee on her back and his _kodachi_ to her throat, and it was all over.

"Ok you win, Aoshi-sama...," Misao stumbled through the words distractedly flustered. She wasn't worried about losing to him at all. Instead, her mind was racing to find out just _where_ the blood had come from, and whose it was.

As if knowing her thoughts, Aoshi's voice cut through her confusion, answering, "It's mine," as he got up off her and put his hand to his side.

Sitting up, Misao blinked at him, bewildered and disbelieving. "Huh?"

"You punched with a _kunai_," he patiently explained.

_Kunai_... Hadn't she thrown them at him when she had been in the air?

"Weasel!" Hiko broke into her thoughts.

"What! Stop calling me that!" Misao snapped back, irritated and not wanting to spare even his insults any thought, then picked herself up.

"It seems you threw two, but neglected _one_ of your _kunai_. Apparently, Shinomori here didn't expect that to happen either. Hah," Hiko elaborated on Aoshi's answer and put on a smug look. "It's the first time I've seen carelessness actually pay off even a little... Hmm, although not so much for you as for Shinomori."

"I see, Misao didn't mean for her punch to be that way," Okina commented, amazed.

When it dawned upon Misao just what had happened, her eyes widened in shock and she gasped again, eyes darting over to Aoshi. Then, she hesitantly stepped towards him, "Aoshi-sama! Gomen! Are... are you all right!" All along, Misao had never believed that she could actually hurt Aoshi... not even emotionally, let alone physically.

"Aa. I'll survive the scratch." Seeing Misao blush profusely at his belittling his injury, his comment on her misplaced anxiety and her naïveté which believed that the blood she saw meant a serious wound, Aoshi quickly added, "You did well, Misao." Against his best intentions, Misao blushed all the more furiously.

"Hn!" Hiko couldn't resist the unspoken jest and wasn't overlooked by Misao, who shot him a death glare. It was, however, easily interrupted.

"Misao-chan, a good job you did!" Okon shuffled hurriedly up to Misao and hugged her.

Still feeling silly, but a lot better, Misao returned the hug enthusiastically and beamed at everyone, then started to laugh in relief, and probably at herself too. Glancing up at Aoshi, she saw that he, looked happy enough as well, although he hadn't actually gone to the point of smiling with his mouth yet.

"Well then, Aoshi... No, Okashira... " Okina paused and bowed solemnly, prompting Shiro, Kuro and Okon to follow suit. After a while, Misao realised what was happening and, berating herself mentally for, once again, having slow reactions for the umpteenth time that day, quickly bowed as well. "Please call a final briefing for the operation today," Okina continued.

Aoshi nodded at them when they stood upright once more. They promptly assembled in the centre of the training hall and took their normal positions in meetings.

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Gathering up his belongings, Hiko stepped out the _genkan_ and fitted his boots on. Then, nodding at Aoshi and Misao, he set off briskly along the street in the direction of his home, and soon locked on to the _ki_ of a scout watching him from the rooftops.

It was easy doing so, as Hiko was moving at a speed faster than anyone else on the street, and it was not hard to detect another that had to keep up. He smirked to himself, then turned grim again.

Having detected the scout, he now had to buy time until the second shift came along. It wouldn't be good to be too far away from the Aoiya when he cracked down on the scout, because time was of the essence.

Catching sight of a _sake_ store, he turned off the street to check it out, and struck up a conversation with the store owner while purchasing some of his finest. To Hiko, it felt like it would be the longest conversation he would ever have...

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"Ja, Jiya!" Misao waved to Okina and bobbed off after Aoshi, who hadn't delayed like Misao habitually would and was thus a few metres ahead already.

After Misao had caught up with him, Aoshi spared her a glance. He hadn't realised just how good she had become in combat. What she lacked in strength and speed, she made up for in tactics and flexibility. She must have known that fighting close to the ground would be to her advantage, which was why her first move in the duel had been to drop close to the ground. She had also fought very close to him, nullifying any advantage his long arms and legs gave him in range. Indeed, she had come close enough for his _kodachi_ to become useless. Not only that, the other advantage for coming up close to him in the fight was that she, being flexible, could easily manoeuvre herself around him in a very confined space.

As a result, he had stopped holding back after Misao had first flung _kunai_ at him. Still, he had been careless, as his small wound proved. Indeed, she should be very proud of herself, as he already was of her. Perhaps, he didn't have to worry all that much about her safety after all.

And yet, despite all that, it was her surprise at the sight of blood that reminded him of how much she had yet to find out about true combat. Rather than initiating her, it had always been his conviction to protect her from the realities and horrors of fights to the death. No, those were one of the few things in life that a person can, should afford to miss out on.

His restoration as the Okashira had also been very... liberating to him. He had least expected it to feel that way. After coming back from Mt Hiei, he had felt burdened by the consideration of taking up the leadership role once again. For quite a while immediately after that battle, he had even dreaded responsibility. Part of him felt that he was not worthy of such an honourable position. Another part was simply tired and weary.

It seemed, then, that he had both been forgiven and rested, both extrinsically and intrinsically. And taking up that role confirmed and reinstated his recovery. Now, with a solution to the Kougikinsei dilemma also within reach, he felt better than he had in a long, long time... too long, really.

_Hmm... I had better pull myself out of this introspection, or Misao will get nervous._ Already, she was casting side glances at him out of the corner of her eye. However, before he had the chance to break the silence, she beat him to it.

"Aoshi-sama?"

"Aa."

"I know you said that I fought well... but I can't help but feel that... anou... hmm..." she trailed off.

Aoshi waited patiently.

"Anou, I mean, surely that's not good by _your_ standards...?" She turned to him with an uncertain and expectant look.

He knew perfectly well what she meant. Perhaps, it was frankness she sought from him.

"Aa. You were careless to pause when you saw that either of us had been injured, like Hiko observed."

"Hai... gomen," she half-muttered, a little sheepishly. "I suppose in a real battle, it would be a really terrible mistake, ne?"

Scrutinising her, he found that she was somewhat downcast, and yet relieved, so he added, "Don't condemn yourself. You _will_ learn from it."

"Hai," she simply stated. _Still crestfallen_, Aoshi thought.

"Misao."

"Hai?" she looked expectantly up at him.

_I think I know what would cheer her up._ "Shall we go to the market after?"

Expectedly, she gave a huge, weasel-reminiscent Misao-patented beam, her bounce restored, and, for a moment, looked like she was tipping toes and on the verge of throwing him a hug... but then she simmered down and nodded contentedly.

Inwardly, Aoshi chuckled at Misao's open readability and tremendous show of self-control. He sincerely hoped that they could at least drop by the market before the shift changed...

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Hiko narrowed his eyes when he felt a flicker in the concentration of the scout. It was time, it seemed.

Sure enough, he felt the _ki_ of another taking the place of the first, along with a slight relief from the one moving off. Ensuring that the relief stayed until he could no longer sense the first scout, he rounded off the conversation with the _sake_ store owner and picked up his newly-acquired jug. _Thank goodness_. _He_ was relieved too.

Striding onto the street, he walked along and took a remote route that he had used to get back to the outskirts of the city before. Obviously, the scout took the bait and followed him.

He rounded the corner of a large-roofed building, ensuring that the scout lost sight of him, and waited. As soon as he had heard the scout's footsteps, he sprang out from the blind corner and deftly, speedily brought his sheathed sword across in a wide and quick arc, striking him on the head hard enough to take him out but let him regain consciousness in time. The scout didn't know what hit him, literally.

Turning the scout over, Hiko nearly let out a gasp when he realised that the scout must have been no more than twenty years old. In fact, he looked about seventeen or eighteen. Scowling, he allowed himself to idle no more and, picking the scout – no, boy – up, he darted through the alleyways, back towards the Aoiya.

He would brood over the boy's fate later on, when he could afford to.

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"Misao, look here," Aoshi leaned slightly over a stall selling miscellaneous items, pointing at its wares, and also at nothing in particular. He murmured so that the stall owner wouldn't hear, "First's shift gone. Hundred and twenty three degrees, fifty metres. Beige _gi_. I'll handle the other."

Straightening up, he gestured to a _dango_ store to their left instead. "Want some?"

Misao played along and nodded. As Aoshi departed, Misao pretended to wander off as well, but in the direction of the scout, feigning interest in the gizmos which the strange stores presented. It came naturally enough to her. The scout was standing next to a kite store.

If Misao wasn't wrong, scouts were trained not to flinch or try to move away should the subject casually approach, or it could be too conspicuous. That played perfectly well into Misao's hand.

Sauntering along while gazing at the products of the stalls, she managed to walk right up to him and even inquire about the kites. Halfway through her badgering the owner, she began to rub her tummy, and tone down. Then, she looked utterly miserable, excused herself to the stall owner, and staggered out of the crowded streets slightly bent over as she put her hand to her mouth, leaving the stall owner to call after her in concern.

When she had entered a quiet enough street, she bent over, as if to puke, then retrieved her _kunai_ and, whirling around to face the scout who had trailed her, embedded ten _kunai_ in the scout's leg. He yelled out in pain as he fell, but was soon silenced as Misao instantly followed up on her _kunai_, pouncing on him and knocking him out.

She picked his arms up and dragged him to where Aoshi, but not the crowd, would see her and waited.

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After Aoshi had taken note of what Misao had chosen to do, he proceeded to actually buy a packet of _dango_ from the stall, then pretended to look for Misao along the more deserted residential streets. She had given him a good excuse for him to isolate his target.

He called out her name a few times. Then, he spotted an outdoor table that belonged to a resident of the area and, leaving the _dango_ there, spun around and started to chase. _No point in wasting good food._

He was fast and had no need to worry about the scout getting away once he'd realised that he was discovered. The scout barely ran a few metres before he was tackled.

Aoshi flipped over the scout and wrapped his arm around his neck, strangling until the scout just passed out. Checking that the pulse was still present, he slung the scout over his shoulder, doubled up to pick up the food and headed straight for where Misao was. If there was another _ki_ he knew as well as his own, it was hers.

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Okina had taken care of the scout that had stayed watch over the Aoiya. Presently, all four victims were in separate rooms, in the far-flung wings of the Aoiya. Aoshi, Okina, Shiro and Kuro each took to interrogating one of them.

Hiko, having to ensure that he was available at a moment's notice as soon as the interrogations were concluded, could not do much solitary reflection, so he resigned himself to whatever social situation he would find himself in at the only remaining retreat he had – the kitchen. _Not much of a "retreat", really._

As he approached the kitchen, he sense the anxiety very distinctly. It was expected, because the interrogations were the most precarious part of the plan, which had the constrains of a time limit that would test their abilities, and because the consequences of failure were quite unthinkable.

Misao was chewing on the _dango_ she'd mysteriously returned with and Okon was washing up the last of the dishes from breakfast. She wouldn't have had much to do – the restaurant being closed for business and the inn to new visitors, so they only had to attend to their current guests, altogether a much more manageable situation.

"Ara, Hiko-san! Is there anything I can prepare for you?" Okon promptly offered as soon as he stepped in.

"Yes, a 'Do Not Disturb' sign, if it's not too inconvenient," he replied dryly, nonchalantly sweeping his gaze over Misao, who took up the perceived challenge. _Better dispel the tension... I could almost cut it with my sword._

"Why you, it's not like I'll even _want_ to _bother_ with you. You sound like you're so popular when you're quite the opposite in _my_ opinion! Besides, I wouldn't have even had to _say_ this to 'disturb' you if you hadn't made that uncalled for comment!" Misao huffed.

"Hn. Unpopular eh? Maybe Okon here would beg to differ." _And perhaps now's the time to see what she's like_, Hiko mused.

"I beg nobody, Hiko-san. Misao might not put things too succinctly or palatably, but she makes good points," Okon pointed out, tightening a corner of her lip in a half-amused smile.

It was nothing Hiko didn't already know. What he _was_ looking to know, however, was that Okon just might make good company after all. His prodding, however, was over for now, and, nodding and smiling graciously, answered Okon's original question, "I would appreciate some _sake_."

It was a response which puzzled Misao to no end, Hiko saw, and he took delight in that at her expense. He also noted, however, that she was wise in keeping her mouth shut when she knew nothing of what was going on.

"So I hear from Misao that besides _kenjutsu_, your other area of specialty is ceramics?"

"I have many other areas of specialty – a true genius is an all rounder," he smirked. "Anyway, what about it?"

"You strike me as a practical, sometimes coarse, man. Why would you waste your time on such a tiresomely dainty exercise?" Okon asked.

Hiko raise an eyebrow. If he was right about her motivations for her actions – that she was still interested in him, then he had to admit that she was very deftly going about achieving it. "Coarse" and "dainty" – the right words and the right topics. He knew that she believed none of the implications on the art of pottery her comments held, but was merely trying to tease out the response she desired of him with the provocative words. However, he knew many ways to play along and yet sidestep that, without even lying.

"It would be unfortunate to waste such fine words of wisdom on unperceptive fools." He had both answered the two facets of her bait and challenged her to find a way not to compromise her true motives for asking her original question by having to prove that she _wasn't_ actually a fool.

Upon hearing the last two words, Misao got jumpy again. "What a _gentle_man you are, calling women unperceptive fools!"

"Since when did I call _anyone_, much less _women_, anything?" he casually countered, leaving Misao on the brink of looking like a sputtering dolt once more. Okon didn't help things for her when she had amused herself very much over the exchange between Misao and him and let out a little laugh. Fortunately for Misao, she reverted to her original strategy of holding her silence when uncertain.

Presently, Okon took gave her incumbent response, "Apparently, though, you have decided that I do not belong to that category at all, or you wouldn't be going through so much trouble to pick your fine words."

_Nicely done._ Hiko was truly impressed, for once in his life, at a person's ability to mould the conversation with such grace and dexterity. So simply, she had addressed his opinions, exonerated herself, and even reconciled, so that in their little game of a conversation, she no longer pitted herself against him.

By now, even Misao had caught a little hint regarding what was going on, and maintained her silence now to also give them their space.

"Hn," he let a knowing smile escape, but quickly converted it to his usual smirk. "Why would I have to go through any trouble at all? My words are always so."

"Then why are your 'fine' words always a pain... too fine, maybe," Misao muttered, at which Okon laughed once more.

"Yes, as Misao-chan says, too fine then," Okon said determinately, then continued before anyone could add anything, gesturing to the dish from which Misao had consumed her _dango_, "Misao-chan, let me clear this for you. You had better go check on their progress. They'd better settle it soon or we _will_ become late."

"Hai," Misao nodded and hurried out.

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Aoshi had just stepped out of the room when Misao turned into the corridor.

"Aoshi-sama?"

"Done," he nodded, visibly relieved as he turned to face her.

Okina, Shiro and Kuro followed him out of the room.

"I thought you were conducting it in separate rooms...?" Misao inquired, puzzled.

"We're done, Misao. We have the information we want. We've shifted them here because this room is secure," Okina replied in Aoshi's stead. "Hurry along and summon Hiko-san and Okon to the training hall. We have to move fast."

"Hai!" Misao acknowledge and was swiftly out of sight, having turned the corner.

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**Author's notes:**

Sensing another pairing? XD Ok, about Okon, there's obviously not much in either the manga or the anime about her. I've reread her lines in Maigo-chan's, and I think that my interpretation of her character is within the bounds of what can be reasonably imagined. Also, another reason for such a mature and sensible interpretation would be her hairstyle. I'm not stereotyping here, but I do think that people consciously (or sometimes subconsciously) reflect their personalities in their fashion sense and hair. Okon has longer hair, which could suggest she's not as perky as Omasu, who comes across that way. Instead, it suggests (at least, to me... I might be a bit biased here) mellowness.

Also, I chose Okon over Omasu because, as I said, Okon _does_ look older and might match Hiko's age a bit better. Besides, I don't think Hiko would have a thing for bright, perky and young girls, from my interpretation of his character. He comes across as more sophisticated to me, judging from his extreme introversion, complex contemplation (I think some of the comments made in the Tsuiokuhen / Trust & Betrayal were extremely deep and wise), and choice of pottery as a profession to back his sword-wielding one up. Hence, I would expect that if he feels romantically attracted to any female, it would have to be up to his standards. That could be a reason why he's been single for so long in my story (although I acknowledge that there's a possibility of fitting a lover into the original timeline in a perfectly reasonabl way, like some fics portray).

Er... did you understand all of that rant?

Anyway, oh yes, in case I've been too vague about it, italics can mean three things:

Foreign (Japanese) terms

Emphasis

Thought

_genkan_ – entrance / doorway

_kunai_ – Misao's weapon of training, the small little knives which have the function of darts.

_kodachi_ – a blade shorter than a normal sword, but longer than a _wakizashi_ (those short swords carried as part of a pair by _samurai_, used for _seppuku_ or traditional Japanese suicide)

_gomen_ – "sorry"

_mou_ – (in this context) refers to an expression of exasperation

_ja_ – "Well then!" or "Bye then!"

_gi_ – an outer overcoat that looks like a _kimono_ from the top, but is of a shorted length and is usually of thicker material

_dango_ – Japanese glutinous dumplings (think Soujirou eating those round things from a stick when he was wandering). The ones I tried are kind of sweet. Sometimes crispy on the outside, but always soft past the outer layer. Eaten with ground soya bean power, red bean paste, sesame seeds or soy sauce.

_hai_ – Yes (More accurately, "Yes, that is so." However, it is often used loosely.)

_anou_ – "Well..." or "Er..."

_ne?_ – "isn't it?" or "eh?" (in the confirmatory sense at the _end_ of a comment/sentence)


End file.
